Sam's Club Changes You'll Notice In 2026

From using AI-powered robots for inventory management to introducing tech that allows members to customize and order cakes online, Sam's Club has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to customer-centric innovation. The members-only warehouse club operated by Walmart thrives on providing shoppers with high-quality products at prices that traditional retail can't match. One of the ways they do this is by engaging with their members and getting their merchants to use this first-hand customer insight to stock a limited number of in-demand products. "Our philosophy has always been simple," founder Sam Walton said about their unique business model. "We are the agents for our customers."

Sam's Club has a rivalry with Costco that goes back a long way, with both chains having launched in 1983. And while Costco might have more stores than Sam's Club, in terms of pure customer experience there's a lot of things Sam's Club does better than Costco. Given this penchant for being on the money with their customer-centric innovations, we thought it would be interesting to get a sense of the changes coming up at Sam's Club in 2026.

One of the biggest pains of shopping at large warehouse stores are the never-ending checkout lines. And even with self-checkout options, shoppers end up queuing up to get their receipts checked at the exit. Sam's Club is rolling out new technology that will do away with that final check.

A decade after Sam's Club launched their Scan & Go application, which allows shoppers to scan items using their phones (and even save them money), they're now setting up exit archways in their stores. These archways use a combination of computer vision and artificial intelligence to confirm everything in the shopping cart has been paid for. Multiple cameras capture images of a loaded cart as it goes through the arches, before AI models interpret the visuals and matches them to products in the store. All of this happens in seconds.

Sam's Club has announced plans to remodel all 600 locations, using their new store in Grapevine, Texas as the template. The Grapevine store, which opened in 2025, does away with registers altogether and creates a seamless shopping experience by combining the Scan & Go technology with the AI exit technology. "The Grapevine Sam's Club sets a new standard for what a club can be," a press release stated. "It's a place where human-centered design and technology meet convenience and discovery, offering a glimpse into the future of retail." If the future of retail entails zero queues, we're all for it.

Sam's Club's relentless drive towards stocking clean and healthy products based on their customer feedback is as good a sign as any that Americans are looking to consume cleaner food. In 2022, Sam's Club set itself an ambitious goal: To drop 40 "unwanted ingredients" from all food and beverage products carrying the Member's Mark label. They have now achieved their lofty "Made Without" target, and starting in 2026, products you buy at Sam's Club will have no artificial flavors, colors, or widely used chemical additives like Butylated Hydroxy Anisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT). What's more — they've managed to eliminate these ingredients without compromising on the taste.

Achieving this was easier said than done. One of the biggest challenges they faced was reformulating the icing for their cakes while maintaining the texture and vibrancy that were a hallmark of these baked goodies. When it came to sports drinks, they had to get even more creative. The trademark electric blue was a no-go due to artificial colors, but without that the drinks were a pale, unattractive purple. In order to retain that iconic blue, Sam's Club decided to change the color of the bottle the drinks are sold in.

"We did it because quality at Sam's Club means more than just a great price. It means providing ingredients that members want and eliminating the ingredients they do not want, and being a brand that members can trust to listen to and respond to their feedback," a note on the Sam's Club website states.

While they upgrade their existing stores, Sam's Club is one of several grocery chains with aggressive expansion plans in place. Last year, the $90 billion business announced its goal to double the number of members and sales over the next decade. In order to hit these ambitious targets, Sam's Club will open 30 new locations over the next eight to 10 years, including at least six in 2026. A company spokesperson told USA Today that of the six new stores, three would be in California, Tennessee and Texas. Sam's Club, which opened only one new location in 2025, will be creating a pipeline that adds approximately 15 new stores every year going forward.

Apart from adding physical stores, Sam's Club is also planning a large-scale digital expansion. These include creating a strong, national e-commerce presence on the back of Walmart's network, a move that will make their membership attractive even to people who don't live close to a physical location. "We've built the foundation. Now, we're accelerating," CEO Chris Nicholas said. "Sam's Club is on a mission to become the world's best club retailer — and we're just getting started."