If you're planning to shop on Black Friday, you may want to check out a cashierless store. Sam's Club, a digital-led warehouse membership group, partnered with Allyson Felix and Usain Bolt, to promote its updated proprietary technology "Scan and Go."
Scan and Go lets shoppers keep track of items they want to purchase and skip the checkout line at Sam's Club, a division of Walmart ($WMT). Cashierless stores were popularized by Amazon Go stores, but the tech company isn't the only player.
"One thing we know in retail is that people want to do two things: they want to save time and they want to save money," Tony Rogers, senior vice president for Sam's Club, told Cheddar.
"In general, what we're trying to do is eliminate friction," he said, touting the speed of the experience. "We wanted to talk about it, and we thought … who exemplifies speed better than Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix?"
The store began using scanning technology a few years ago, but has been updating the software, including adding the ability to scan the entire item instead of just the barcode, which could potentially save more than five seconds on each item.
Sam's Club opened its first cashierless store in Dallas last year.
Rogers said the company is focused on implementing and continuing to update its scanning technology, and that the company may be interested in licensing its technology in the future.
"Inside the company, there's a real tech vibe," he said.
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
