VenuesNow (10/19/21) Trakin, Roy
The Forum arena in Los Angeles is the first West Coast venue to open a checkout-free concession area powered by Amazon's Just Walk Out technology. With just a credit card swipe, a customer passes through a turnstile into a food and beverage area while 66 overhead monitors and sensors track each movement, charging for every item physically selected as soon as customers leave. Support for other payment methods, including Apple Pay and other smart cash apps, is coming soon. The Just Walk Out technology was chosen after Amazon’s success with the Clippers’ CourtVision project, which revolutionizes the fan viewing experience and uses computer tracking to monitor player movement and in-game stats. "One of our goals is to take the friction points for a fan and see how we can improve them," said Clippers president of business operations Gillian Zucker. "For most people, the worst part of attending an event are the lines. We have spent a number of years utilizing various kinds of technology that would eliminate that experience. This is another step in that direction." When the nearby Intuit Dome opens, Zucker also plans to deploy the same technologies for security, ticket ingress, authentication for on-site clubs, retail concessions and merchandise sales. Zucker adds that no concession jobs were lost with the implementation of the Amazon technology. "The roles have been repurposed for different tasks," she says. "We still need people to restock the shelves, greet and provide customer service as well as security."
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