The Seattle Seahawks examined out Amazon’s
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Just Walk Out and Amazon One applied sciences this season in a single upper-concourse location at Lumen Field. The outcomes proved so promising the Seahawks now plan to debut three extra areas on the principle concourse when the staff performs at dwelling once more on Sunday, Nov. 27, the biggest growth of the expertise in sports activities.

“We look at Lumen Field, which turned 20 years in July of this year, and look at these fan innovation opportunities and partnerships, like with Amazon, as critical to progress fan experience at the stadium,” says Zach Hensley, Seahawks’ vice-president of operations and basic supervisor of Lumen Field. “Our goal is to get fans back in the seats as quick as possible. These technology solutions serve that option best for us.”

Lumen Field’s higher concourse had two conventional concession stands within the venue’s tightest concourse. Over 51% of followers keep on the higher concourse all through the sport. To begin the 2022-23 season, the Seahawks partnered with Amazon to enhance the fan expertise and increase income by turning these areas right into a District Market retailer that includes Just Walk Out and Amazon One applied sciences.

The outcomes impressed. The website noticed a 74% improve in buyer throughput when in comparison with the earlier conventional belly-up concession stand in the identical location and whole transactions per recreation doubled in comparison with the earlier design.

“We are an experience building where people want to see the game,” Hensley says. “We want to get people back to their seat as quickly as possible.”

The Seahawks labored with Amazon to mine knowledge from across the stadium and supply a mixture of grab-and-go choices within the frictionless expertise retailer. The website was already recognized for the staff’s neighborhood concession program that featured gadgets from the native Chinatown International District, so the Seahawks did not change the complete menu, merely taking affect from Amazon. The end result was extra clients transferring by way of, a much less congested concourse and twice as many gross sales, with the most well-liked meals merchandise offered the Bulgogi Hot Dog, a footlong canine topped with pork bulgogi, pickled cucumbers, gochujang chili aioli and nori.

Now comes the growth.

The three new technology-driven additions change extra conventional kiosks on the principle concourse at sections 103, 105 and 123. “We looked at traffic flow into areas,” Hensley says, “not only flow, but increase of variety.”

The set-up of the brand new stands options completely different coolers, permitting for a rise of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks by as a lot as 30%. The dry snack choices, which stood at one or two choices per stand, can now improve to 6 to eight differing merchandise.

The modular items, nonetheless dubbed District Market, supply a distinct setup than the unique set up on the higher concourse, so is not going to serve scorching gadgets. By changing the small counters of the normal belly-up stands with District Market designs, Hensley says the Seahawks now have the footprint to extend product selection whereas bettering throughput and never hampering pace of service.

“We are advancing from the one large store in the main concourse of stadiums and are starting to work with customers on leveraging the technology more broadly, particularly in the upper levels of stadiums which are historically underserved in terms of speed and technology,” says Jon Jenkins, vice-president of Amazon’s Just Walk Out, about continued growth.

Two format varieties have emerged, whether or not bigger grab-and-go markets, key flagships across the venue, or, as within the case of the Seattle growth, the smaller prefabricated “store kits” with a lean footprint to “serve as line busters throughout the concourse.”

“These are particularly effective on busy gamedays because they reduce congestion, keep fans moving in and out of stores quickly and they ensure fans don’t miss any key moments of the action they’ve come to see,” Jenkins says. While most groups have provided pre-packaged gadgets, whether or not snacks or canned drinks, he says the expertise additionally helps the sale of scorching meals and tap-poured drinks.

Hensley says that as extra knowledge streams in on fan conduct the Seahawks will resolve on how far they go together with the grab-and-go District Market versus the normal meals and beverage service. “I do think there will be a blend because people come to sporting events to see the sports, but also for the food and beverage experience,” he says. “There will always need to be a blend.”

Amazon has its expertise in all three of Seattle’s professional sports venues, together with UBS Arena in New York, TD Garden in Boston, Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, Minute Maid Park in Houston, Chicago’s United Center, Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium and Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Jenkins says elevated income and throughput on the venues interprets to elevated buyer satisfaction.

The three new stands in Seattle all come enabled with each the Just Walk Out and the Amazon One applied sciences. Additional Amazon One sign-up stations shall be positioned on the concourse, however followers nonetheless have the choice for a tap-and-pay Just Walk Out expertise with out including Amazon One.

As the brand new stands rise up and working, the Seahawks can proceed to take a look at the information after which use the pliability of the structure to regulate menu choices. The selection out there within the new stands permits the staff to maintain staples in play and rotate different gadgets, even seasonally. “As the seasons change, from summer to fall to winter, there are opportunities to change (the products),” Hensley says. “It gives us a great amount of flexibility to transition menu items.”