SEATTLE—Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle announced the expanded use of Amazon One at three concession areas inside the arena, allowing customers at these locations to pay for food and beverages with their palm.
These concession areas join the four existing Just Walk Out technology and Amazon One-enabled stores, which opened in 2021 and allow customers to take what they want and leave without stopping to check out.
Amazon One will be available as a stand-alone payment option for guests visiting the Modelo Cantina, Metropolitan Grill and 1st Ave Nachos. Guests new to using Amazon One, can enroll in less than a minute at any of the Amazon One enrollment kiosks located outside the three concession areas, or at any of the Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores within the arena.
Amazon One’s expansion as a point-of-sale (POS) option at the venue is a collaboration between Amazon, Climate Pledge Arena hospitality partner Delaware North, the Seattle Kraken and Oak View Group, owner and operator of the arena.
“It’s an easy decision for us to support technology solutions that guests love and find easy to use,” said Jeff Wilkinson, chief information officer at Delaware North. “With four Just Walk Out technology-enabled stores and Amazon One at a combined seven areas, Climate Pledge Arena is quickly becoming a hub for tech-savvy fans, and we’re thrilled to help enable a seamless payment experience for them with this latest expansion,” Wilkinson said.
“We are excited Climate Pledge Arena is doubling down on their commitment to enable a fast and frictionless shopping experience for their guests during concerts and games,” said Dilip Kumar, vice president, AWS Applications. “Expanding the use of Amazon One as a payment option at Climate Pledge Arena will help reduce lines for guests waiting to pay, as well as remove the need for them to carry a wallet, handbag or credit card whenever they want to step away from the action to purchase food and refreshments.”
The NACS 2022 Ideas 2 Go program featured T-Mobile Park, the first Major League Baseball ballpark to offer Amazon’s Just Walk Out and Amazon One frictionless technologies.
“This type of buying experience is new for us but desperately needed,” said Malcolm Rogel, vice president of fan experience for the Seattle Mariners. “It's different than football and soccer where you have a half…so we needed something that can get food and beverages to the fans quick so they can be back to their seat in no time,” he explained.
Amazon launched Amazon One in September 2020. Along with payment, the service also can be used for presenting a loyalty card, entering a location like a stadium or badging into work. The technology is “designed to be highly secure and uses custom-built algorithms and hardware to create a person’s unique palm signature,” said Amazon.
Ninety percent of people used unattended retail as much as they had prior to the pandemic or more during the pandemic, and more convenience retailers are exploring ways to eliminate friction for customers, including skipping the checkout line.
NACS offers a free webinar on self-checkout innovations at c-stores. Pre- and post-pay fuel transactions, loyalty, cash payments and age verification are also discussed.
Read more about frictionless checkout systems in “Self-Checkout Strategies” in the March issue of NACS Magazine.