Walmart shoppers at more than 200 stores will soon be able to use their iPhones to scan items and pay at self-checkout counters, as the retail giant has announced an expansion of its Scan & Go pilot program.
The Scan & Go program, which commenced near Walmart's home office of Bentonville, Ark., last year, currently runs in about 70 stores across the United States. The coming year will see the program expanded to more than 200 stores, though that is still only a fraction of the retailer's more than 4,000 U.S. stores, according to Reuters.
Scan & Go currently only works with devices running Apple's iOS. Walmart representatives say, though, that an Android-compatible version should be available soon.
Using Scan & Go, Walmart customers scan bar codes on items they want to buy while they're shopping. The app — compatible with iPads, iPhones, and iPods — keeps track of their planned purchases, as well as the total cost. Customers then take their items to a self-checkout lane, where they pay, instead of going through a traditional register. The app currently provides users with both an electronic receipt and a paper one. Users still pay in the usual manner, with cash or a credit card, and Walmart has declined to comment on the possibility of mobile payment integration.
The number of self-checkout lanes in Walmart stores will increase as the retailer expands the Scan & Go pilot. The pilot expansion will see Scan & Go growing to more than a dozen new markets, including Denver, Phoenix, Omaha, Dallas, Austin, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wyoming, Montana, Seattle, San Jose, and Portland.