Why Does Sam’s Club Scan Receipts

The perks of a Sam’s Club membership are not the only thing that makes shopping with Sam’s Club a unique experience. You will use your membership card to check out at the self-checkout kiosk, and when you leave, an employee will stop to scan your receipt and some items in your cart. 

This practice is to prevent people from walking out without paying for something. It is a loss prevention technique designed to stop not only intentional shoplifters but help you remember that forgotten case of soda on the bottom of your cart.

Scanning Receipts Helps Verify Your Bulk Shopping Experience

Sam’s Club allows you to shop in bulk for your groceries and household items, which is great for people who like to make a monthly grocery trip. However, shopping in bulk for things that come in large packages can make it difficult to see what is in your cart.

Shopping in bulk can cause things to get missed or forgotten. When you have filled your cart to the brim and have things shoved underneath for more storage, it can be easy to forget to scan something.

Sam’s Club places employees at the exit to scan your receipt to double-check that all your items were scanned and paid for. Many of us have experienced the anxiety of getting to the car and realizing we forgot to scan something at the register. Sam’s Club has a policy in place to help prevent that from happening.

Sam’s Club’s Loss Prevention Policies

Loss prevention is a term thrown around in the retail world often. Every major company has policies in place around this term. Loss prevention is exactly what it sounds like. It refers to the store’s procedures to prevent product loss without payment. Every retail store faces the challenge of shoplifters or careless shoppers in general.

One of Sam’s Club’s most significant loss prevention policies includes stationing an employee at the exit to scan your receipt before you leave. They will scan your receipt and then scan a few items in your cart to ensure you have purchased them.

The practice deters shoplifters from committing the crime. They will not scan everything in your cart. Knowing that random items in the cart will be checked for theft or even an accidental mis-scan, individuals are less likely to attempt to walk out of the store without paying for everything in their cart.

What Kind of Items Need to be Scanned?

Self-checkout can be a positive part of your shopping experience. Another significant benefit to self check out is the ability to monitor all of your items as they are scanned. If you are scanning all of your items and you can keep track of what everything costs compared to the sales you are taking advantage of, you can double-check on your own to ensure everything is ringing up correctly.

When the employee at the exit stops you to scan your receipt, they will choose a few items to scan to ensure they are on the receipt. They won’t scan everything, but there is generally a method to what they choose.

The employees designated to prevent theft or accidental mis-scans will look for things that could have been missed when checking out. They will scan cases of water, soda, and other things they think could have been missed at the register. They look for large items, usually on the bottom of your cart, because those are the most common items to get overlooked.

Conclusion

If you have never visited Sam’s Club, you might be surprised by several things about your experience. Sam’s Club is a members-only grocery store that allows you to purchase most household items and groceries in bulk. There are many perks to purchasing a Sam’s Club membership that will set apart your shopping experience from the rest.

You will be stopped at the exit when you check out so an employee can scan your receipt. They will scan some things in your cart to ensure everything has been rung out and properly purchased. Whether from accidental misses at the register or intentional theft, this practice helps reduce the loss of products.