What if your favorite warehouse club asked you what products it should put on its shelves?
Not just whether you liked something you had already purchased, but what flavors, ingredients, and even packaging you wanted before the product was sold.
I would have a lot of opinions if there were a poll because these are products I consume regularly, especially when I already have preferences for certain brands.
And when I pay for a product, it only makes sense to want something that delivers what I am paying for.
Sam’s Club is increasingly bringing those customer preferences into the product-development process.
And some shoppers are already seeing the results.
The Walmart-owned warehouse chain is making changes to its holiday meal offering this year after customers asked for more options, including an extra dessert, an appetizer, and alternatives to a traditional turkey.
At Groceryshop 2026, an annual gathering of grocery retailers and consumer brands held in Las Vegas in September, Sam’s Club Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant Myron Frazier explained how members helped shape those decisions.
For the past three years, Sam’s Club has offered a holiday meal package that can feed 15 people for around $10 per person.
But members wanted more choices.
Some wanted ham instead of turkey. Others preferred a smoked turkey that would save time in the kitchen.
Frazier said the retailer was incorporating that feedback into its holiday offering.
And the holiday meal is only one example.
Sam’s Club gives 200,000 shoppers a bigger say
At Groceryshop, Frazier revealed that the retailer’s Member’s Mark Community had grown to more than 200,000 shoppers.
The group helps Sam’s Club decide what products to introduce, how to improve existing items, and what changes customers would actually welcome.
“We can ask them anything,” Frazier said during his Groceryshop presentation, according to Grocery Dive.
The questions range from ingredients and packaging to whether shoppers would rather buy a product in-store or have it delivered.
Members can also provide feedback about the checkout experience and the retailer’s Scan & Go technology.
The program isn’t entirely new.
Sam’s Club established the Member’s Mark Community in 2019 and expanded it in June 2024, with about 50,000 participants.
By May 2026, participation had tripled to more than 150,000 members.
At the time, Sam’s Club said members had completed nearly half a million activities, including surveys, tastings, and product tests.
The number of participating shoppers has since surpassed 200,000, according to Frazier’s Groceryshop presentation.
And their opinions aren’t simply being collected for future reference.
They are changing what ends up on shelves.
Sam’s Club shoppers helped create products
For instance, Sam’s Club originally considered a blueberry-flavored cookie for summer.
But its members had other ideas.
They preferred strawberry shortcake, a flavor they associated more strongly with the season.
So the retailer launched a strawberry shortcake cookie instead, and Frazier said the product performed extremely well.
The company has also used member feedback to develop everyday products that shoppers might not associate with customer-led innovation.
On its Member’s Mark Community page, Sam’s Club credits participants with helping develop its Better Nut Bars, including refining their taste and texture through at-home testing.
Even kitchen trash bags have received the treatment.
According to the retailer’s product listing, 325 members tested its Member’s Mark Power Flex trash bags in everyday situations.
The retailer wants to know how its products perform in customers’ homes before deciding what needs to change.
Sam’s Club also credited community feedback with helping it remove more than 40 unwanted ingredients, including certified synthetic colors, from its Member’s Mark food and beverage assortment.
That initiative has already been covered by TheStreet.
Why Sam’s Club is giving shoppers more influence
The strategy comes as consumers are becoming more selective about where they shop and what they buy.
NielsenIQ data presented at Groceryshop showed that 39% of consumers are switching to lower-priced brands, while 32% are buying more private-label products.
You can read my previous coverage of how private labels are gaining ground over national brands.
These trends help explain why retailers are paying closer attention to their store brands and increasingly getting consumers involved in the process beyond simply buying the finished product.
I believe that when you, as a consumer, are involved in developing a product, you can also feel more connected to the brand.
Sam’s Club itself has pointed to that changing relationship. In May, the retailer said consumers increasingly want relationships with brands where they feel their opinions are valued and reflected in the products they buy.
For Sam’s Club, Member’s Mark competes for shoppers who could otherwise choose national brands, Walmart’s own store brands, or Costco’s Kirkland Signature products.
Frazier summarized its strategy at Groceryshop as offering a great product at a competitive price, along with the value members expect from Sam’s Club.
Sam’s Club said in May that it was also expanding opportunities for members to attend listening sessions and preview products before their launch.
For Sam’s Club, there is an obvious business incentive.
Getting shoppers involved earlier gives the retailer a chance to learn what customers want before a product reaches the shelf.
Related: Formerly bankrupt buffet chain comes back after 6-year shutdown