Wal-Mart Brings Self-Checkout Program To More U.S. Cities For Testing

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expanded the test implementation of its Scan & Go self-checkout program to include more than 200 stores in several cities in the United States. First tested in about 70 stores in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bentonville, Arkansas, the self-checkout program allows shoppers to scan items using their smartphones then pay at self-checkout counters. More than 50 percent of the retailer's customers own a smartphone, and 40 percent of traffic coming to the company's online store comes from shoppers' mobile devices, according to Wal-Mart's senior vice president of mobile and digital initiatives Gibu Thomas.