Retail technology innovation of the week: Sodexo Live! teams with AiFi to deliver frictionless stadium store
Retail Technology Innovation of the Week is a new series brought to you by RTIH and sponsored by 3D Cloud by Marxent, highlighting stand out deployments, launches, and initiatives by retailers and tech suppliers.
Every week, we will showcase forward thinking tech plays that have impressed our Editor and the Retail Technology Innovations Report judging panel, in the run up to the publication of the 2024 report early next year.
So far, we’ve showcased work being done by the likes of Ocado Retail, Decathlon, Lacoste, Downtown Spirits, TalkShopLive, Huck’s, Rovertown, Wing, McDonald’s, Google Cloud. Nobody’s Child, IKI, Pixevia, Walmart, A.L.C., Archive, Therabody, Outform, Kingfisher, PMC, Żabka Polska, Boots UK, Ocula Technologies, Grace O'Malley Irish Whiskey, Metacask, Carrefour Belgium, HMV, Worldpay from FIS, and FreedomPay.
And we’re kicking off 2024 with Sodexo Live!, the venue partner of Brighton & Hove Albion since 2013, which has made a significant investment at the American Express Stadium, to enhance the experience for fans and guests alike.
Last month saw the launch of a new retail store, the West Stand Tap, which is fully automated and allows guests to walk up, scan their payment device (card or phone), grab what they want and then walk out to complete their purchase.
The aim is to provide fans with a quick service retail solution that offers key items on matchday. Items available include a selection of beer, lager, cider, soft drinks and pies and sausage rolls from local favourite Piglet’s Pantry.
A fan event to test and trial the store was arranged and took place on 3rd December.
This was made up of approximately 60 supporters who got to try out the facility and share their thoughts and feedback ahead of the opening last week.
Feedback from supporters included: “very smart, very modern, very clean looking. Quite sophisticated”; And, “I think it’s going to benefit fans. I think this could really make it easier for those people to just go in, get their simple pies and pints and leave very quickly.”
Sodexo Live! has partnered with AiFi to develop and deliver the frictionless store.
The store and recently installed permanent fixed self-serve beer wall, (which was the first in Europe at a Premier League stadium) are a key part of the drive to provide fans with enhanced levels of experience, reduced queues and more time to enjoy their visits to the American Express Stadium.
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