Sam's Club Adds New Services for Small-Business Owners The retailer is now offering digital marketing, payment processing and loans to the 600,000 business members who shop its stores and website each week.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Members-only retail warehouse Sam's Club is looking to fortify the legacy of its entrepreneurial founder, Sam Walton, who spun a 1950 Arkansas dime store into Walmart, which is now the largest retailer on earth.
After rolling out a trio of services for Sam's Club business members last year, including health care, payroll and legal planning, the retailer has today announced five additional offerings, which it claims can save members up to $2,300 per year.
First, in collaboration with Web.com, Sam's will provide digital marketing solutions for small business owners -- 50 percent of whom, according to Web.com, do not have any online presence whatsoever. Five bundled plans will be available to aid in website design, email marketing and social media strategy, including do-it-yourself (DIY) and do-it-for-me (DIFM) options.
Next, Sam's is getting into the payments processing game alongside First Data, which will offer point-of-sale-technology and mobile payment options with plans beginning at $19 per month, Sam's said.
Related: Sam's Club to Offer Health Care, Payroll and Legal Services for Small Businesses
For business owners who struggle with accounting, Sam's has partnered with 1-800Accountant to offer year-round tax planning as well as digital platforms for bookkeeping. And for businesses in need of a loan, the retailer is slated to launch its Sam's Club Business Lending Center in two weeks, which will offer between $5,000 and $350,000 in capital through Lending Club business loans and SmartBiz SBA loans.
Finally, in collaboration with theft protection company LifeLock, which offers identity risk and credit worthiness assessment for businesses, Sam's will offer annual protection at a reduced cost of 25 percent.
Though its portfolio of business-related services is predominantly accessible online, the company says plans also include live experts in each field that are available around the clock.
Sam's, which is owned by Walmart, is frequented by tens of millions of consumers, it says, and sees 600,000 small-business owners within its 649 total clubs and online every week.
Related: Wal-Mart to Spend $1 Billion Raising Employee Pay to at Least $9 an Hour
