The use of checkout-free technology in stadium concession stands will get a huge boost later this summer when the Intuit Dome opens with more than 40 checkout-free concession stands using technology from AiFi, according to AiFi execs.
While not a formal announcement, the news was revealed by AiFi during a presentation at the SEAT conference in Las Vegas on Monday. Joe Jorczak, head of global revenue at AiFi, and Richard Wallace, head of sales and account management for the Americas at AiFi, gave a joint talk which at one point provided a high level of detail on the Intuit Dome deal, which also includes four merchandise stores that will use a mix of AiFi’s camera and RFID technologies.
If you’re not familiar with checkout-free stores, here’s a quick primer. Customers are allowed to enter gated stores by scanning a credit card or some other pre-authorized payment method (including biometric methods using faces or palms). After entering they simply take the items they want and then exit. Using technologies including cameras and (from some providers) sensor shelves, the stores can automatically detect what items customers are selecting. Payment takes place online after they leave the store. (For more details on how checkout-free works, please see our previous MARKET REPORT on checkout-free concession stands).
Over the past year and a half, checkout-free stadium concession stands have seen huge growth, with more than 100 new stores launched at stadiums and arenas. While AiFi has previously trailed market leaders Zippin and Amazon in terms of number of stores launched, if the Intuit Dome stores open as scheduled then by mid-August the numbers race between the three top providers of the technology will be much closer. Currently, the venue with the most number of checkout-free stores is Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which has 10 Zippin-powered stands. Lumen Field in Seattle has nine checkout-free stores, using Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.
But as the first stadium to use checkout-free technology for basically every concession stand in the building, Intuit Dome will shine a brighter spotlight on both the technology and on AiFi, a San Francisco-area startup that had only opened 22 stadium-specific stores as of earlier this year. (Currently our latest tracking shows Zippin leading the market with 85 stadium-specific stores, while Amazon has 74 Just Walk Out stores and four RFID-based merchandise stores.) Though the number is not yet final, on Monday a slide at the AiFi presentation said there would be “40+” autonomous concession stands, “4+” merchandise stores and “1 VIP space” using AiFi technology, which would include “4,000+ cameras.”
First stadium with all checkout-free concessions ?
“The Intuit Dome [deal] proves that the technology is ready for scale,” said Wallace at the SEAT conference presentation. Wallace also admitted that as a company “yeah, we’re nervous” about opening so many stores at once, but also said that AiFi is confident it can get the job done.
Jorczak said the AiFi merchandise stores with RFID will be integrated with camera technology allowing customers to check out like they do at regular AiFi stores. Amazon’s RFID stores, by comparison, use a completely different technology deployment than its Just Walk Out stores, with RFID antennas in gates where customers must present payment to check out. Jorczak added that some of the Intuit Dome stores may also use facial recognition technology for payment, as other providers have done.
The Intuit Dome, the new 20,000-seat home of the Steve Ballmer-owned Los Angeles Clippers, is scheduled to formally open on Aug. 15 with a Bruno Mars concert. AiFi’s Jorczak said he did not know yet if all the AiFi stores will be functional on day 1, citing construction issues as a factor. But he said that checkout-free technology itself has more than proved itself as a viable method for many retail operations.
“It’s not a lab experiment anymore,” Jorczak said.
The Burlingame, Calif.-based AiFi, which was founded in 2016, uses AI-powered computer vision technology to provide contactless autonomous shopping. AiFi’s AI platform allows retailers to implement autonomous shopping, using camera-only solutions that ensure accuracy as it tracks a customer’s autonomous shopping activities. In March of 2022, Verizon Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures LLC announced strategic investments in AiFi as it raised $65 million in a Series B round, with the help of other partners ALDI South Group, Żabka Group and REWE.
