The Forum in Inglewood, California has become the latest arena to open a checkout-free store powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.
The technology debuted during last Friday’s Eagles concert at the 17,500-seat arena. The store enables eventgoers to purchase food and beverages at The Forum without waiting in line.
The store is located at the north end of the venue’s main floor. Guests are required to enter the gates of the store with their credit card, with the Just Walk Out technology then able to track what is purchased before they leave the store.
Arena staff are on hand to check guests for ID when buying alcohol and assist with the technology, but the store effectively allows attendees to walk in and purchase items without any physical transaction taking place. The technology had its soft launch last week and was officially announced this week.
Last year, Steve Ballmer, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, purchased The Forum from Madison Square Garden Entertainment in a deal worth $400m (£290m/€344m). The acquisition paved the way for the Clippers to proceed with plans for its own new arena, Intuit Dome, less than two miles from The Forum.
Gillian Zucker, president of business operations for the Clippers, said the Just Walk Out store at The Forum has proven popular and revealed that a similar experience could be launched at Intuit Dome.
“It was incredibly well received,” Zucker told Variety. “And actually we saw triple the amount of volume as we’ve seen in the past through the same location.”
She added: “The retrofitting of the stores is not inexpensive and that’s really the benefit of starting from scratch, that you can plan for it from the beginning. The technology that’s utilised requires a great deal of back-end capital investment. So we’re excited about the idea of being able to install from scratch (at the Intuit Dome). Having said that, I wouldn’t completely eliminate the possibility of there being more stands like this at The Forum.”
The technology will also be available at four food and beverage outlets at Climate Pledge Arena, the new home of the Seattle Kraken NHL franchise which opens this week. Amazon has an existing relationship with the venue, having acquired its naming rights last year through its Climate Pledge campaign.
Earlier this year, TD Garden, home of the NBA’s Boston Celtics and NHL’s Boston Bruins, detailed plans to open two Just Walk Out stores, marking a first for the city.
Image: Ritapepaj/CC BY-SA 3.0/Edited for size
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