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Last Updated on March 28, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner

There are many touting the Sam’s Scan and Go for self-checkout. Personally it is just another “load factor” with not much ROI for me personally. Good to shop and then when done, good to checkout. More efficient to single task than multi-task (even preemptively).

We shop at Costco, and we shop at Kroger or Wegman’s, Aldi, Sprouts or Trader Joe’s. Two different models for a large cart of goods.

Table of Contents

Strategic Takeaway?

Retailers treating scan‑and‑go and self‑checkout as a pure labor‑savings play are getting burned; winners treat them as risk‑managed service tiers that are tightly gated, scoped, and instrumented.

One size does not fit all
Identity and gating are the leverage points
Redesign scan‑and‑go as a tiered privilege, not a default
Optimize for “cheap certainty,” not minimum labor – https://www.thestreet.com/retail/costco-quietly-speeds-up-checkout-with-two-major-changes

Yes. Kroger rolled out a scan‑and‑go style program called Scan, Bag, Go, but it has gone through several pullbacks and quiet changes over time. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2018/01/31/kroger-takes-speedy-scan-bag-go-tech-nationwide/1059457001/

What Kroger did

Around 2017–2018 Kroger expanded Scan, Bag, Go from a small pilot to about 400 stores, using store handheld scanners or a phone app so customers could scan and bag items as they shopped, then pay at self‑checkout.
The system let shoppers see running totals, apply digital coupons, and then complete checkout at a self‑checkout station, with plans to move to in‑app payment to let people walk out more directly.

What happened afterward

By around 2019–2020, reports from employees and shoppers indicate Kroger stopped supporting full in‑app payment in many locations and scaled back Scan, Bag, Go, citing internal concerns including theft and shrink, operational complexity, and low adoption.
In parallel, Kroger shifted emphasis to its main Kroger app with Kroger Pay and standard self‑checkout, which still support app‑based payment but keep the actual scanning and tendering anchored at attended or camera‑monitored lanes. The Kroger app was always subpar until then. Now it is better (8 out of 10). Very little carryover or persistence.

Publicly, Kroger has never given a single clean “we killed Scan, Bag, Go because of X” statement, but multiple signals point to three main drivers: shrink/loss risk, low adoption vs cost, and a shift to other digital priorities. https://www.grocerydive.com/news/theft-is-a-major-risk-for-retailers-using-scan-and-go-expert-says/563702/

Loss prevention and shrink

Store‑level comments and internal chatter say paying on the phone was pulled back specifically “due to theft prevention,” and that loss on the program became hard to justify.
Industry coverage of scan‑and‑go, including Kroger’s implementation, consistently flags higher risk of under‑scanning and walk‑outs, even when every basket is supposed to be verified by an employee before final payment.

Adoption and operational friction

Customer and employee posts describe Scan, Bag, Go as a niche feature used by a small subset of shoppers, while hardware (handhelds, cradles, network, maintenance) and training costs were ongoing.
Some stores reported device hygiene/cleaning complaints during and after COVID and general tech clunkiness, which added friction without broad enough usage to justify dedicated labor and equipment.

Strategic re‑focus

Around the same period, Kroger increasingly emphasized its core app, Kroger Pay, standard self‑checkout, pickup, and delivery as the primary “speed and convenience” levers, rather than doubling down on handheld or phone‑based in‑aisle scanning.
Later write‑ups on why Scan & Go–style services were reduced at Kroger frame it as a reallocation of investment toward integrated digital experiences (app, loyalty, payments, e‑commerce) that reach far more customers and are easier to secure.

Kroger could copy the Costco/Sam’s “club + SCO + scan‑and‑go” pattern in theory, but a few structural and practical differences make that model much harder for a mainstream grocer.

Why the Costco/Sam’s model works

Membership gates who can shop and creates strong identity binding: they know exactly who you are, tie all baskets to a member ID, and can discipline or cancel accounts if abuse shows up, which is a powerful deterrent. https://abc7ny.com/post/costco-change-membership-card-sharing-scan-crack-down/14330984/
They stack controls: membership check at entry, membership + ID at self‑checkout, and detailed receipt/cart checks or AI‑powered exit verification, so there are multiple chances to catch shrink.
Clubs have fewer SKUs and a different basket profile (large packs, fewer tiny items), which simplifies exception detection and makes “something’s off” stand out more clearly on video and receipts.

Why grocers like Kroger don’t copy it directly

No mandatory membership to enter means a much weaker identity anchor; you can’t easily threaten “membership revocation” for bad behavior because most traffic is just walk‑in shoppers.
Standing up Costco‑style gates (ID at entry, heavier ID at SCO, strict exit checks) in a regular supermarket would feel like over‑policing and likely drive away a chunk of price‑sensitive, convenience‑oriented traffic that expects a quick neighborhood‑grocery experience, not a club. https://www.fooddive.com/news/retailers-adding-theft-prone-self-checkouts/516317/
The ROI math is different: clubs can justify more friction and tech because membership fees and high‑value baskets fund it; a high‑volume grocer running on thin margins has to be very careful adding labor and hardware that slow people down, especially if prior scan‑and‑go pilots already showed limited uptake and elevated shrink.

Where this leaves “Costco‑style” ideas for Kroger

You do see partial borrowing: more app integration, some ID checks at SCO, and occasional exit checks in higher‑risk locations, but not the full club stack of membership‑gated entry plus universal receipt auditing plus walk‑out scan‑and‑go.
If a Kroger‑type chain wanted to go truly Costco/Sam’s on this, they’d likely need a closed‑loop membership tier with perks, then confine full scan‑and‑go to that cohort (essentially making a club‑inside‑a‑grocer) to get the same leverage on both behavior and data. https://tech.walmart.com/content/walmart-global-tech/en_us/blog/post/skip-the-checkout-line-with-scan-and-go-at-sams-club.html

For a non‑club like Kroger, a lower‑shrink scan‑and‑go has to look more like “semi‑gated fast lane” than wide‑open honor system.

Core design moves

Tight identity binding: Require a logged‑in account with verified payment (card on file, loyalty ID) before scanning; no anonymous use, and clear terms that abuse can lock the account across digital perks. Kroger does this with prescriptions, recommends updates, and has card on file for fast checkout.
Small, defined use‑cases: Limit scan‑and‑go to baskets under a certain item count and maybe exclude the highest‑risk categories (spirits, razor cartridges, OTC meds) from in‑aisle scanning.

Front‑end and exit controls

Mandatory verification lane: Every scan‑and‑go basket must pass through a staffed or camera‑supervised “validation SCO,” not straight walk‑out; UI makes that explicit so customers don’t feel surprised.
Risk‑based audits: Random full rescans plus algorithmic triggers (odd price mix, repeated voids, chronic low spend vs items) with a visible but polite script when an audit fires.

Tech and UX levers

Computer‑vision or weight checks on the validation lane: Use CV or item‑weight comparison to highlight likely misses so the attendant only needs to spot‑check instead of fully re‑ringing.
Make honesty the fast path: Very fast “green” completion when baskets have clean histories, with extra friction (more audits, more questions) for accounts that trip risk signals.

If you were advising a Kroger‑type grocer today, would you lean more toward “lightweight app + validation lane” or push all the way to computer‑vision carts/ceiling systems even at today’s cost?

Target’s main move has been to tighten self‑checkout, not add scan‑and‑go: in 2024 they converted SCO to “Express Self‑Checkout” capped at 10 items and leaned back into staffed lanes.

What Target has actually done

Since March 2024, most Target stores run self‑checkout as “10 items or fewer,” with larger baskets pushed to cashier lanes; tests at ~200 stores showed this made SCO about twice as fast and improved perceived experience. https://corporate.target.com/press/fact-sheet/2024/03/checkout-improvements
Executives publicly framed the change around speed and guest satisfaction, while industry and later coverage explicitly tie Target’s and other chains’ SCO cutbacks to shrink/theft and abuse of wide‑open self‑checkout.

Why no Costco‑style scan‑and‑go

Target has a digital Wallet in its app (Cartwheel offers + RedCard payment via single barcode) but it’s used to pay/discount at the lane, not to self‑scan items in‑aisle, so they’ve never gone full “phone scan‑and‑go” like Sam’s.
Given rising organized retail crime and store closures over safety and shrink, Target appears to be reducing risk and friction by: limiting SCO to small baskets, keeping scanning anchored at lanes, and using the app mainly for ID/loyalty/payment rather than as a roaming scanner. https://www.fastcompany.com/91329522/target-self-checkout-rules-have-not-changed-despite-shrink-reports

If you’re thinking in design terms, Target is basically the “tight SCO, no scan‑and‑go” endpoint on a spectrum where Sam’s/Costco are “full scan‑and‑go plus heavy gating”

Posts 2026: 7

Why Doesn’t Kroger Adopt The Costco SCO Model?