Amazon is to roll out its Just Walk Out technology to a store at The O2 arena this summer, one of several third-party implementations of its checkout-free shopping tech planned in the UK this year.
The O2 will become the first indoor arena in England to feature the technology, which uses computer vision, object recognition and shelf sensors to avoid the need for a cashier or self-checkout.
Visitors to the store will tap their card or mobile wallet on entry to the store, pick what they want, then exit and “head back to their seats quickly”.
“Just Walk Out technology has proven to be a great fit in small-format stores where shoppers are on a ‘mission-driven’ shopping trip, making quick purchases of relatively few items,” Jon Jenkins, VP Just Walk Out technology, told The Grocer.
The events venue will also be introducing a number of self-service bars, powered by Just Walk Out, which visitors can use to quickly grab drinks and snacks.
“We will bring this frictionless shopping experience to customers across the UK in places like sports stadiums, entertainment venues, airports, hospitals, universities, and more,” Jenkins added.
The O2 is the latest in a growing list of UK venues that have opened stores powered by Amazon’s technology, including ExCeL London and The SSE Arena, Belfast. As well as public stores, the technology has been implemented in the corporate headquarters of Bentley Motors and Santander Bank, and Amazon’s headquarters in London.
There are also Just Walk Out powered stores on hospital and university campuses, and since November at Gridserve’s electric vehicle charging station at Gatwick Airport, with more Gridserve stores coming later this year.
Jenkins said venues like The O2 had chosen Just Walk Out due to its ability to increase throughput. The SSE Arena store, he said, had seen an uplift in sales of 10% to 40%, depending on the event.
“Our technology is also a great fit for businesses that experience traffic fluctuations throughout the day. We see this in conference centres with busy events that have shoppers coming and going all day, but see peak rushes during meal times,” he said.
It is expected third-party Just Walk Out stores will number more than a dozen by the year’s end. Globally Just Walk Out technology can be found within more than 150 third-party locations across the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, and Amazon in April announced plans to double that count this year.
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