Anyone for tennis and checkout-frees stores? Zippin makes history at 2024 French Open tennis tournament

A new checkout-free store debuted at this year’s French Open. Launched in collaboration between Zippin, Sodexo Live!, and Fujitsu, this represents the first public autonomous store in France.

Housed in a historic building at the Auteuil Greenhouses near Court Simonne-Mathieu, the 630 square foot store offers a variety of cold sandwiches, pre-packaged beverages, and snacks.

Tennis fans tap a payment method to enter, select their items, and leave.

Zippin’s checkout-free platform uses AI, computer vision, and sensor fusion to accurately determine purchases and automatically bill shoppers upon exiting the store. There are no lines, no scanning, and no mobile app required. 

This follows on from a Zippin powered American Express Shop at the US Open during the past two years.

In a Sports Business Journal article, Paul Pettas, VP of Brand & Communications at Sodexo Live!, said: “We’re certainly very excited to see how it develops and grows. We’re excited to see how we can bring it to life in an even better way next year.”

Krishna Motukuri, Co-founder and CEO at Zippin, said: “The fact that [we needed to make] minimal changes to the building meant that all the components that we used are portable, modular, and require the least amount of changes to the space.”

Barclays Center

Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, recently relaunched one of its five Zippin powered stores.

The Grab & Go store on the arena’s main concourse is now the Brooklyn Boardwalk.

This reopened to guests beginning with the New York Liberty’s home opener on Saturday, 18th May.

Unique to Brooklyn Boardwalk are new counters for guests to purchase fresh, hot popcorn - the only Zippin powered store in the arena to sell popcorn in addition to beverages.

BSE Global, parent company of Barclays Center, managed and executed the project, including the installation of Zippin equipment for the popcorn counters. Zippin offered consultation, remote support and system testing prior to go-live.

“This project showcases the ease and flexibility of installing our technology. Retailers can reset, redesign, or even relocate their Zippin stores to maximise their return on investment,” says Motukuri.

“It’s what makes us unique, our continued focus on simplifying installations, expanding our platform flexibility, and reducing the total cost of ownership for our customers.”