Zippin hails launch frenzy with 15 stores live in 10 weeks as Walk-up at Capital One Arena goes live

Autonomous stores specialist Zippin reports that it has launched 15 locations over a 10 week period.

In a LinkedIn post, Krishna Motukuri, Co-founder at Zippin, said: “Some of these were expansions in venues we already had Zippin stores, and some were in new venues. Some were indoors, some were outdoors. Many were Walk-ups or Lanes, and some others were markets. Nearly all of them were retrofits (very little new construction involved).”

He added: “For existing clients of ours, the new stores were a great opportunity to see how far our platform and underlying tech has come since three or four years ago when they got their first Zippins. Both the cost of the technology as well as the effort and time to install it is significantly lower now. But more notably, almost all of the newly launched stores started outperforming the older ones right from the get go, despite being, in many cases, smaller than the previous stores.”

By way of example, Motukuri highlighted a new Walk-up at Capital One arena, which already had two older drink markets powered by Zippin. Offering freshly made hot food along with popcorn, chips and soda, the new stand outperforms its larger sister stores, he observed.

He concluded: “Thanks to Vincent Vazquez, Kyle Reith, Anthony Kleinman and the Aramark Sports + Entertainment team for spearheading this effort and making it happen in less than four weeks - from signing to launch.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Autonomous stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards, which are now open for entries, 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.