Costco’s New Checkout System Can Process Your Cart in Seconds

Costco is testing a system that scans your items before you reach the register.

BY LEILA SHERIDAN, NEWS WRITER

Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Adobe Stock

Costco is testing a new way to speed up its checkout lines, one of the most dreaded parts of the shopping experience. In fact, the company aims to cut transaction times down to mere seconds. 

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, CFO Gary Millerchip outlined a pilot program that allows employees to begin scanning items while customers are still waiting in line. By the time shoppers reach the register, their entire cart has already been processed. At that point, customers just need to scan their membership card, review the total, and pay, reducing the final step to what the company says can be under 10 seconds.

The shift is a notable departure from traditional checkout models, particularly for a retailer like Costco, where customers often purchase items in bulk and carts can contain dozens of products. Long checkout lines have been one of the few consistent friction points in the warehouse shopping experience.

“Early results show this is improving the flow of traffic, and we have received great member feedback,” Millerchip said.

How Anthropic's Claude AI Became a Co-Founder

The early response suggests customers are noticing the difference. One Reddit user wrote that the system could also ease the burden on employees, noting that cashiers no longer need to move “a hundred items across the machine,” calling it “a real nice improvement.” Others said they had experienced similar pre-scanning outside of the pilot program and found it significantly reduced wait times, Delish reported. 

At the same time, the company is leaning into digital and AI-driven changes across its business. “On our digital sites, we continue to roll out new personalization capabilities which are resonating well with our members and are starting to have measurable impact on e-commerce sales growth,” Millerchip said on the call. “As consumers embrace AI in their shopping habits, we believe our commitments to providing the best value on great quality items can make us a beneficiary of these shifts.”

Those investments come as consumer preferences continue to evolve. According to the NCR Voyix Digital Commerce Index, 43 percent of shoppers now prefer self-checkout, with that number rising to 53 percent among consumers aged 18 to 44. Older shoppers, however, still tend to favor staffed lanes, often citing large cart sizes, an area where Costco’s hybrid approach may offer a middle ground.

© Inc.com