Sam’s Club adapted fast and under pressure when COVID-19 first forced retailers to rethink in-store and omnichannel experiences in 2020. In 2024, the chain of club stores, which operates under Walmart, Inc., is constructing off what it launched and learned over the past 4 years.
Sabrina Callahan, who arrived at Sam’s Club in 2019 and now serves as vice chairman, ecommerce at Sam’s Club, was there when its members’ lives and desires modified over days and months. In 2020, Sam’s launched nationwide curbside pickup. It realized value from its existing investment in Scan & Go, a feature within the Sam’s Club mobile app, which enables customers to scan items in stores to envision out through their phones. Throughout the past few months, Sam’s Club has gone further. It debuted recent exit gateways that use computer vision to remove the necessity for purchasers to have receipts checked manually upon leaving.
Sabrina Callahan, vice chairman, ecommerce, Sam’s Club | Photo credit: Sam’s Club
Callahan and Jordan Eddy, vice chairman, digital merchandising at Sam’s Club, appeared at eTail West in Palm Springs, Calif., in February, to debate the client preferences they’re watching and a few of the omnichannel implications. Callahan sat down later to get into more detail with Digital Commerce 360, walking through a few of the changes she has seen, what she believes is working for Sam’s Club now, and what lies ahead.
Walmart is No. 2 within the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s rating of North America’s online retailers by web sales. Walmart appears there within the Mass Merchant category.
How Sam’s Club adapted when COVID hit
Callahan’s first role at Sam’s Club was director of name and social marketing, coming to the corporate from the hospitality industry at Hilton. She calls her initial mission to “develop and launch the brand” a “massive opportunity.” It was also one which put her able to watch how club members were experiencing Sam’s on public social platforms.
“The launch, development and rollout of the brand happened fast and we had great momentum, after which COVID hit,” she recalled. “I wasn’t on the ecom[merce] side at the moment, but what I watched is the world change overnight, and I believe what was really interesting is where retailers adapted.”
She said she was motivated seeing Sam’s Club associates show up during a few of the hardest times during that period. Furthermore, she was well-placed to see the solutions that emerged through omnichannel offerings.
“We had Scan & Go, right? So it made [customers] feel comfortable to have the opportunity to are available in and never must refer to someone or touch someone or be inside range of somebody,” Callahan shared.
“But in the event that they didn’t want to come back into the club, what were their options?” she said, remembering the circumstances being confronted. “We didn’t have same-day delivery, but we had shipping. But then we also didn’t have curbside really on the time.”
All of that modified when curbside pickup became a national option that summer.
“Curbside just rolled out like wildfire, and our members craved the chance, they usually immediately adopted,” she stated. “That for us was this giant shift, right, because now abruptly you introduced a brand-new channel and a brand-new convenience. And our members are loving it, but we rolled fast.”
Sam’s Club omnichannel priorities in 2024
Getting into ecommerce at Sam’s Club in 2022, Callahan took on a leadership role in online and omnichannel efforts that followed. The Sam’s Club mobile app offers multiple features beyond online ordering. Along with Scan & Go, it also gives members a technique to order at a club’s café, pay for gas or scan an item’s barcode in-store to have it shipped.
Currently, about one-third of Sam’s Club shoppers buy online, in response to Callahan. She sees the app as a growing opportunity — and one which Sam’s is positioned to pursue.
“[About] half of our members have the app, but only a 3rd of them are purchasing online through us,” she assessed.
Also, she sees positive signals in mobile visitors to Sam Club’s website, who could potentially develop into app users as well.
“Almost 80% of our traffic’s coming through mobile,” she said. “50% of that’s coming through the app.”
Some core needs remain the identical. In line with Callahan, her focus is on convenience, mapping solutions to paths that expand upon traditional Sam’s Club experiences — akin to browsing shelves, smelling samples, or having fun with a meal — that members enjoy.
“We want that for them,” she explained. “But we also want them shopping these other channels, right? Because we all know that in the event that they do, they shop all the channels, Scan & Go and curbside, same-day delivery shipping and in-club, that they spend thrice more, that they renew at the next rate, and that they upgrade at the next rate.“
Grocery and consumables make up the biggest product category by sales at Sam’s Club stores within the U.S. In 2023, it accounted for 63% of Sam’s Club’s sales, in response to data published by Statista. The category’s dominance is reflected in Sam’s Club’s online sales as well, though Callahan noted that seasonal changes can impact purchases, as can promotional offers through the chain’s digital coupons and online events. In those cases, Sam’s may push smaller categories akin to electronics, apparel or furniture.
What Sam’s Club members are using
As for what’s working best in Sam’s Club’s digital conversions, Callahan pointed to continuously ordered item recommendations, which propose items so as to add to orders.
“It’s that convenience that we’re seeing is admittedly sticky,” she said.
A customer could also be choosing items from a product carousel online or from a product page. But then, after a range they could possibly be shown items from past orders which can be available for curbside pickup. Improving these suggestion models and removing friction from the complete process is what she wants to perform.
“I need them to shop, and I need them to have a great experience,” she explained. “Because they got here for the convenience.”
What’s next for Sam’s Club
Higher recommendations and improved convenience are two areas where Callahan desires to have an effect. She also desires to see Sam’s gain recent insights from its 4 many years of member data, improving along the best way. Looking ahead, she sees mobile and buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) each playing essential roles. But she can also be being attentive to what customers adopt.
“I believe we’re determining how far we are able to take the tech and continuing to use the information to make smarter decisions for our members, after which we’ll do a ton of A/B testing,” she said. “Do they prefer it? Did they not prefer it? After which if they’re liking it and it’s adding value to them, then we’ll roll it out.”
What she knows is that convenience can have value.
“Members have specifically told us they’ll pay more for convenience, but we don’t want them to pay extra,” she said. “We’re also saying if that’s that essential to them, we’ve got to lean in. They need it, and we’ve got to get it to them quickly.”
Do you rank in our database?
Submit your data with this quick survey and we’ll see where you slot in our next rating update.
Enroll
Stay on top of the newest developments within the ecommerce industry. Enroll for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Be the primary to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.
