Eye on Retail: Major League technology
The home field of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team is offering cashierless shopping with Amazon technology, augmented with RFID.
A concession store equipped with an RFID-enabled version of Amazon’s Just Walk Out frictionless shopping platform, including the Amazon One palm-based payment solution, is now open at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas (greater Dallas area). The new iteration of Amazon’s checkout-free shopping option is designed for use with apparel and other softlines merchandise.
Amazon’s frictionless “Just Walk Out” technology enables customers to take what they want without having to stop to check out, with the experience made possible by computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning technology that detects what customers take from or return to the shelves. The new version combines Just Walk Out with Avery Denison RFID technology to "address the unique nature of shopping for softlines," according to Amazon.
With the new system, all the items for sale have a unique RFID tag, designed to look similar to a standard apparel tag. After the customer is done shopping, they leave the store through the designated exit gate by tapping their credit or debit card, or hovering their palm over an Amazon One palm payment terminal.
As they pass through the gate, the RFID tags are read by RFID readers and their payment card is automatically charged. Shortly after exiting the store, customers will be able to have access to their receipt online. And with the Rangers’ entry into the 2023 World Series, there will be at least two more games for Globe Life Field attendees to shop Easy Out.
Easy Out is the third retail outlet at Globe Life Field to offer checkout-free shopping for Ranger fans. In March 2023, hospitality/entertainment company Delaware North and the Rangers opened two Express Grill outlets with Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One.
“With Just Walk Out technology, we are helping create a whole new shopping experience for sports fans and customers. And at Globe Life Field, we are bringing our latest capability of Just Walk Out technology so Texas Rangers fans can grab clothes, hats, and other fan merchandise and simply leave the store through an exit gate – even while wearing their purchases,” said Jon Jenkins, VP, Just Walk Out technology, AWS Applications.
“Collaborating with Amazon and Delaware North on checkout-free shopping venues throughout Globe Life Field has greatly enhanced the fan experience for game days and major events, which is always our top priority,” said Rob Matwick, executive VP of business operations for the Texas Rangers. “The addition of the new Easy Out location, featuring Amazon’s latest cutting-edge technology, means our fans can now shop for their favorite Rangers T-shirts and Jerseys, feel the fabric, try them on, and simply leave the store without waiting in checkout lines. And setting up this latest Just Walk Out technology store was so quick and convenient for us.”
“Our drive for innovation continually motivates us to improve service speed and convenience for our customers,” said Casey Rapp, GM for Delaware North at Globe Life Field. “After witnessing the advantages of Amazon's autonomous shopping solutions in our food and beverage outlets, as well as how fast and flexible this technology can be to install, we're thrilled to extend this experience to merchandise like clothing, hats, and more.”
Sports arenas implement Just Walk Out
The Rangers are part of a larger trend of the frictionless shopping technology increasingly being deployed at stores within sports arenas.
For example, the new Seahawks Pro Shop Outlet at Lumen Field in Seattle and the net-zero carbon-certified Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle (home of the Seattle Kraken NHL franchise) both feature stores with the combined Just Walk Out-RFID technology implementation to enable checkout-free shopping for apparel and other softlines items.
Bridgestone Arena, the home arena of the Nashville Predators professional hockey team, recently started leveraging Amazon technology in a new cashierless convenience store. Fiserv Arena, home arena of the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball franchise, provides a checkout-free shopping option with Amazon technology.
And Crypto.com Arena, the home stadium of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers, the NHL’s L.A. Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, opened two new “grab and go” locations equipped with the technology in October 2022.
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This article appeared first in Chain Store Age, sister publication of HBSDealer.
