Sam’s Club Taps 50K-Strong Member’s Mark Community to Provide Product Input

The Sam’s Club division of Walmart is supersizing crowdsourcing via its Member’s Mark Community, an opt-in network that boasts 50,000 engaged participants. The Community provides input on products before they reach Sam’s Club stores, from voting on exclusive flavors to testing and trialing new items. The retailer had relaunched the Member’s Mark private label brand in April 2022.

“At Sam’s Club, we have a long history of listening to feedback from our members and putting their needs at the center of everything we do,” said Megan Crozier, Chief Merchant for Sam’s Club in a statement. “This is more than just an idea; it’s collaboration that is already happening at scale, with input flowing from 50,000 active members, and we see the opportunity to include all members in the future.”

For example, this season’s Member’s Mark grill benefited from input and product testing by community members. The retailer’s product development team identified avid grillers through a questionnaire and then distributed 20 prototypes to members in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Members tested the grills, cooking, filming and reviewing their experiences, and their feedback led to the development of a grill that included adjusted features designed to resonate with members’ needs and preferences.

While the community is currently primarily engaging with customers who regularly purchase Member’s Mark items, this group mirrors the broader Sam’s Club membership base, and the next phase of this customer engagement will offer all club members the opportunity to become collaborators with the brand.