Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium has launched a ground-breaking convenience concept, becoming the first stadium in the Southern Hemisphere to use Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.
The artificial intelligence technology simplifies the shopping experience by removing checkout and helps consumers to get in and out quickly and seamlessly.
Two outlets at the 55,000-seat stadium have been upgraded to the frictionless shopping experience, allowing fans to grab food and drink and get back to the game in less time than it takes for a goal break.
The technology, which includes the use of cameras and sensors, and machine learning algorithms to process data, will be available at two outlets known as ‘The Runner’ – one food and beverage, and one bar – in time for the early rounds of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership season.
Fans can simply use their credit or debit card, or mobile wallet payment option at entry, collect their items, and leave the store without having to wait in a queue to checkout.
Kylie Rogers, AFL EGM Customer and Commercial, said the upgrade is about bringing fans a next generation stadium experience so they can spend more time enjoying the footy.
“We are continually looking at new ways to innovate and modernise our fan experience, and we know everyone will love the fast, convenient experience that Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will deliver,” she says.
Just Walk Out technology is made possible by AI like computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in any retail environment. Amazon built synthetic datasets to mimic millions of realistic shopping scenarios – including variations in shop format, lighting conditions, and even crowds of shoppers – to ensure accuracy in any environment.
Shopping at a location powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology is designed to be an effortless experience. The technology detects what shoppers take or return to the shelves and creates a virtual shopping session. When guests have completed their shopping, they are able to leave the shop and their choice of payment method will be charged for the items they took with them.
Just Walk Out technology has already proven successful at sporting stadiums around the world – a stadium in Seattle saw a 74 per cent increase in customer throughput, and total transactions per game doubled, compared to the previous store design.
Based on the success of this first store, the stadium has added three additional Amazon-powered stores to the stadium.
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