Levy UK and Ireland's Harry Ridley talks frictionless retail innovation journey with AiFi

Harry Ridley, Head of Technology at Levy UK and Ireland, recently took to the stage at the Coliseum Global Sports Venue Alliance European Summit at the Arsenal F.C Emirates stadium, alongside Damian Ritter from AiFi.

In a LinkedIn post, Ridley said: "Together, we shared our journey of innovation and collaboration, showcasing how we started - taking learnings from over three years of pioneering frictionless starting at Flutter Entertainment HQ and Defence Academy of the United Kingdom laid the foundation for our successful launch at Leicester City Football Club, first frictionless stadium bar in Europe, followed by Aston Villa Football Club. These milestones marked a huge step forward and set the stage for frictionless innovation across the industry."

Do not underestimate the power of space planning and optimising fan flows in the design of frictionless outlets, proving that any space can be transformed, Ridley stressed. "I believe the future is no gates - just seamless, open trackable spaces be it lounges, VIP or even GA+ areas, reimagining the fan experience."

He added: "Always enhance and upgrade your back of house infrastructure, crucial to seamless operation and increase pick up and re-stock speed. Partnering with the experts at Benchmark Designs has been absolutely essential to deliver optimal layouts, high quality fit out and finishes."

"Frictionless technology, such as AiFi ensures 99.4+% accurate transactions, eliminates shrinkage, prevents stock outages, and enhances operational efficiency, creating the best possible fan experience. Fully immersive venues such as the Intuit Dome (Levy Restaurants) are leading the charge."

In addition to streamlining transactions, Ritter provided updates on how AiFi provides insights into fan movements via Spaces Made Intelligent. Leveraging in Levy's venues, these insights and additional data points will shape the future of stadium operations, delivering increased value to venues and fans, Ridley obsrved.

Ridley concluded: "As part of my wider Levy technology toolkit, frictionless bars deliver incredible ROI when deployed in the right locations through following the data analysis hot spots and highest trade volumes. Coupling an optimised product range with frictionless technology outlets can achieve 300% faster transactions at peak, enabling operators to pivot staff at PoS into server roles to fulfill demand. More launches incoming this summer."

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Frictionless retail will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which will open for entries in March, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy  Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.