The most affordable version of a checkout-free concession stand, one that uses existing concession stand layouts and infrastructure, continues to gain acceptance at stadiums, with the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs recently deploying new stands using technology from Zippin.
According to a recent Zippin email, the Patriots this summer added a Zippin walk-up version store to Gillette Stadium, the fifth Zippin store in the venue. As you can see from the photo, the stand adds the checkout-free technology (mainly the in/out gates) outside the counter space, and then uses counter-top coolers and heated containers where customers can select items in a grab-and-go fashion.
For venues, the “walk-up” version of Zippin stores allows them to test the waters on checkout-free technology without having to pay for any extensive construction or configuration costs that sometimes accompany larger checkout-free concession stands. Competitors Amazon and Ai-Fi have followed Zippin’s success with the walk-up stores with some stripped-down versions of their own stands, like the recent Amazon Just Walk Out store deployed at BMO Stadium.
In Kansas City, the Chiefs and caterer Aramark partnered with Zippin to install a second walk-up stand at Geha Field at Arrowhead Stadium, following the first one that was deployed last year.
We are gearing up for what we expect to be a host of new-store announcements this fall, starting with the opening of Intuit Dome next week, where technology supplier AiFi is expected to be powering some 40-plus checkout-free stands. Currently our unofficial market deployment count shows Zippin still in the lead with 87 stadium-specific checkout-free stands, followed by Amazon with 74 “Just Walk Out” stores as well as five merchandise-specific stores that use RFID technology. AiFi currently has 26 stadium-specific checkout-free stands open; we will update that figure when we get news on exactly how many stands will open when Intuit Dome hosts its first event next week.
