One of London’s most iconic music and events venues has welcomed the future of retail with the opening of a new store powered by Amazon Just Walk Out technology.
The store, located inside the O2 arena, allows shoppers to pick up their goods and walk out with them, after swiping a payment card to enter, meaning there is no need to wait in a queue.
The store, which was shown to TechRadar Pro at a recent media event, offers a range of snacks, drinks and even alcoholic beverages, which can be quickly picked up and added to a virtual basket – with users then charged as they leave the store without missing any of the presentation.
Just go out
Just Walk Out technology, first seen in Amazon Fresh stores and now expanding to third parties around the world, initially required shoppers to have a linked Amazon account to access it, but now allows any payment card to be scanned for entry.
Amazon says it has worked with Adyen and Levy to ensure the payment technology is reliable and secure. Stock is monitored using a comprehensive network of sensors and cameras that can detect exactly which products have been removed from shelves. AI-generated images and video clips of the store are also generated and analysed to track shoppers across the store and can also differentiate between individual shoppers and groups.
There is still a human presence, with staff members checking the age of consumers' alcoholic beverages and removing bottle caps, but technology definitely carries the weight in this store.
“This technology is very portable… you can see multiple uses for the technology, it's growing and gaining momentum,” said Steve Gurney, global head of retail industry at AWS.
“It's just the beginning, but it's growing very fast.”
“We saw Just Walk Out technology in the US a few years ago and knew immediately that we wanted to bring it to the UK, and to O2 in particular,” O2 Commercial Director Adam Pearson told us.
“It's really there to eliminate queues and eliminate the main inconvenience of going to a stadium… and standing in line. This eliminates the need for that and allows us to serve people remarkably quickly compared to a traditional transaction.”
Pearson estimated the store would be able to serve “thousands” of customers on any given show night, with the O2's capacity at around 16,000 for between 200 and 220 shows a year.
Following the initial launch, the O2 now hopes to open a second, larger self-service store in October 2024 alongside the dozens of staffed bars on site, and Pearson says the intention is to expand to “multiple” stores across the stadium in the future.
