Robert Brown|More drone deliveries, new AI tech: Here's a guide to what Walmart unveiled at CES 2024

Shopping at Walmart and Robert BrownSam's Club is about to get easier.

Walmart on Tuesday unveiled several new and upcoming offerings that aim to improve the customer experience, from generative AI-powered search tools to technology that will do away with the receipt check lines at Sam's Club.

“We build technology to serve people and not the other way around,” Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in a news release. “Walmart’s purpose is to help people live better and, today, more than ever, advances in technology make it feel like anything is possible.” 

McMillon took the stage Tuesday afternoon at the CES consumer technology convention in Las Vegas to highlight the company's latest innovations.

AI-powered receipt check at Sam’s Club

New AI-powered technology at Sam’s Club intends to do away with the long receipt-check lines near the exits.

The retailer plans to leverage AI and computer vision technology to confirm that members have paid for all of the items in their carts. Sam’s Club has so far launched the technology at 10 locations as part of a pilot program, with plans to expand to its nearly 600 clubs by the end of the year. 

"At Sam's Club, we care about every second a member spends with us. So eliminating even the few seconds it takes to scan a receipt at the exit door is well worth it," said Megan Crozier, the chief merchant at Sam's Club, at CES.

CEO McMillon acknowledged that some of Walmart's innovations will shift employee roles.

"No doubt some tasks will go away and some roles will change. And some of them should, like the ones that involve lifting heavy weight or doing repetitive tasks," he said. "As that's happening, we're designing new roles that our associates tell us are more enjoyable and satisfying and also often result in higher pay."

More Walmart delivery drones in Texas

After more than 20,000 drone deliveries over the last two years, Walmart is expanding the service to 1.8 million additional households in the Dallas Fort-Worth metroplex. The company says this is the first time a U.S. retailer has offered drone delivery to this many households in a single market.

“Drone delivery is not just a concept of the future, it’s happening now and will soon be a reality for millions of additional Texans,” Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president of innovation and automation for Walmart U.S., said in a press release. The new hubs are expected to launch in the coming months, with the expansion complete by the end of the year.

Roughly three-fourths of the items in Walmart's Supercenters meet the size and weight requirements for drone delivery, with items delivered in 30 minutes or less. The Texas deliveries will be completed through partnerships with on-demand drone delivery providers Wing and Zipline. 

Walmart also offers drone deliveries in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Utah and Virginia.

AI-powered tools 

Walmart announced Tuesday that a new generative AI-powered search experience is now available on iOS, and available to all platforms later this quarter. 

The new search allows customers to search by specific use cases. If a customer is throwing a Super Bowl party, for instance, they can search “football watch party” to find relevant items instead of typing in multiple searches for things like chips, chicken wings and soda. 

Walmart says the search tool will account for “a variety of other factors” like location and search history to yield better results.

Walmart also shared details on its new InHome Replenishment tool, which uses AI to help fill customers’ carts with necessary items right when they need it. 

The new offering expands upon the InHome grocery delivery service launched in 2019, which carries orders directly to customers’ doorstep, garage or kitchen fridge. InHome Replenishment will use a personalized algorithm to anticipate customers’ needs and place orders that are delivered directly to their kitchen. Customers will have the option to skip items that are not needed, add additional items to their order and adjust their delivery date. 

"It's personalized and adjusts based on your changing needs," said Whitney Pegden, vice president of new propositions and pre-transactions at Walmart U.S. "Not only are we going to get you what you need, we're going to get it to you when you need it and even where you need it, right to your refrigerator."

Walmart has not yet announced when this new service will launch. 

Virtual try-ons

Walmart also shared that it is working on a new augmented reality (AR) experience called Shop with Friends. 

The social commerce platform is set to let customers create virtual outfits to share with their friends for feedback. The outfits will be displayed on a virtual model with a size and shape similar to the customer.

Walmart has not yet announced when this feature will be available. 

More EV chargers

Walmart in 2023 announced plans to deploy a nationwide network of fast electric vehicle chargers across thousands of stores and clubs by 2030. Now, Walmart says it plans to start rolling out the chargers this year.

"Using partner technology, these chargers will be Walmart-owned and -operated so that we can use best-in-class chargers and deliver a Walmart charging experience. One that is convenient, reliable and affordable," said Vishal Kapadia, senior vice president of energy transformation at Walmart.