Walmart Accuses BJ’s Wholesale of Stealing Self-Checkout Tech
Walmart and its big-box warehouse subsidiary Sam’s Club accused rival retailer BJ’s Wholesale Club in a lawsuit filed Tuesday of stealing technology that powers a popular self-checkout option in the Sam’s Club mobile app.
The suit, filed in federal court, claims Walmart worked for years to develop Scan & Go, a feature that lets Sam’s Club customers ring up purchases on their smartphones while walking through the store, allowing them to avoid a checkout line.
It also notes that Walmart holds multiple patents protecting the intellectual property for the self-checkout feature, which debuted in 2016. Scan & Go has become more popular since the Covid-19 pandemic began in the U.S. in early 2020 as shoppers adopted social distancing and contactless checkout.
