St. Louis CITY SC MLS team taps Zippin tech for checkout-free store first

The newest club in US Major League Soccer (MLS), St. Louis CITY SC, recently opened CITYPARK, a 22,500 seat stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. This is the first MLS stadium to offer checkout-free shopping.

Those who attended the recent friendly match between St. Louis CITY2 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, experienced CITYPARK’s three Zippin powered stores, which are checkout-free and feature local food favourites, grab and go drinks and snacks.

CITYPARK says that it saw shopping times as fast as 10 seconds.

“We designed CITYPARK with a fan first mindset and leaned heavily into rapidly changing fan behaviours,” says Matt Sebek, Chief Experience Officer at St. Louis CITY SC.

“Our fans told us they wanted speed without sacrificing variety. With checkout-free technology, they get both choice and convenience.”

“Focusing on a seamless experience builds trust in our product and gets fans back to their seats and to the action faster, which is where we want them to be.”

To shop, fans tap their card to enter, get what they need, exit and return to their seats.

Zippin’s AI software automatically identifies the items the shopper left with using overhead cameras and sensors, and charges them accordingly.

“Offering the best fan experience possible means access to great food and drink, fast. It's a win-win for the venue and the shopper,” says Krishna Motukuri, Zippin Co-founder and CEO.

“We’ve seen our platform change the economics for stadiums, which is why more and more operators are turning to Zippin. Demand continues to grow as happy shoppers leave stadiums like CITYPARK looking for the same convenience elsewhere.”