Checkout-free technology provider Zippin extended its lead in the sports stadium-specific market with the announcement of four new stores using its new walk-up store format, plus one new drink lane store and a trial of using facial authentication systems for age verification and payment at a store at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High.
The four walk-up stores, where checkout-free technology is deployed into an existing concession stand using existing appliances, kitchen, and counter space, are all in NFL stadiums, with two at Nissan Stadium in Memphis, and one each at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and NRG Stadium in Houston, according to Zippin. The new stores bring Nissan Stadium’s Zippin total up to seven, while NRG Stadium now has four Zippin stores. The store at Levi’s Stadium is the first there. One additional new “drink lane” store also opened, at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
The five new stores bring Zippin’s stadium-specific store count to 71, ahead of Amazon’s next-best total of 46. AiFi, another competitor in the checkout-free space, has 10 stadium stores currently open, but we expect all these numbers to change in the next few weeks as more new openings are announced. Clearly, our predicition that the stadium world would continue to embrace checkout-free technology is spot on.
The flurry of walk-up store openings is proof that Zippin’s move to provide a less expensive and easier to deploy version of its technology would be well received. According to Zippin, the walk-up stores can be deployed in about two days, a much quicker deployment schedule than the bigger drink lane or full-size stores. At the first walk-up store launched earlier this summer in Kansas City, Zippin showed off an integrated light and camera bar that the company said helps speed up the store deployments.
Facial authentication system from IDmission gets test in Denver
One interesting trial we’re looking forward to seeing is one announced by caterer Aramark at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, where facial authentication technology from the Boulder, Colo.-based IDmission will be used to allow fans to verify their age, identification and payment at a Zippin store by simply smiling at a screen.
We haven’t seen the trial in action yet (the Broncos play their NFL home opener Sunday) but we are guessing it will be similar in fashion to what was used at the Cleveland Browns Stadium last year, where fans could use facial authentication to order and purchase a beer at the “Cleveland Cold Ones” stands. Fans sign up for the system ahead of time by entering photos of their state-issue IDs, credit card information, and a selfie. This technology has also been used at drink-machine stands from TendedBar.
According to Aramark, the system will initially be trialed at three “Drink Mkt” stands at Empower Field at Mile High, starting with Sunday’s game. Fans enrolled into the facial authentication system will have a separate entry line for the stores. Customers can enroll by visiting https://empowerfield.idmission.com before the game or by scanning the QR code outside of the Drink Mkt locations. Once enrolled in the system, Aramark said, fans “will be able to skip the line at all Drink Mkt locations that feature this technology. Enrolled guests will no longer need to pull out their IDs or payment methods, and can get back to their seats in record time.”
According to Aramark the Denver trial with the Zippin store does not use facial authentication software from Wicket (which was part of the Cleveland deployment last year), but instead uses facial recognition technology from IDmission, a company we profiled in an earlier story.
(We also predicted this might happen in an earlier column.)
