Sam's Club is set to open a 32-000-square foot, high-tech concept store — Sam's Club Now — in Dallas, that will be a test bed for its new mobile-first shopping experience, according to a blogpost from Jamie Iannone, president of SamsClub.com and executive vice president of membership and technology. 

The store will utilize the warehouse club's Scan and Go app, which allows smartphone users to automatically update digital shopping lists, instantly navigate store aisles using voice recognition to find an individual product category and use augmented reality to help customers explore product features. Customers will be able to order and pick up items using the app within an hour's time. 

Instead of traditional store associates, the store will include "member hosts" — employees armed with the latest digital tools to help customers through the experience. 

Sam's Club Now will use electronic shelf labels, which will automatically update inventory prices and eliminate traditional signage. The stores will have more than 700 digital cameras to help manage inventory and make it easier to get around the location. The Sam's Club Now store will be about one-fourth the size of traditional Sam's Club operations. 

Iannone noted that regular use of Scan and Go, which was introduced in 2016, is up 40 percent this year and added that 90 percent of customers that use the app try it again on their next trip.