Dive Brief:
- Ampm has officially opened its first autonomous arena location and second stadium c-store overall with a new store at Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Golden State Warriors NBA team, according to a post on the center’s website.
- The store, called the Ampm ASAP Grab and Go, uses AiFi and Verizon Business technology to power a frictionless shopping experience where customers swipe a credit card at the entrance, grab their items and leave.
- Convenience stores and frictionless technology are becoming more prevalent in arenas, and the new Ampm location marries both trends to create a quick, branded experience for sports fans.
Dive Insight:
Chase Center piloted the Ampm ASAP Grab and Go store during the 2022-23 NBA playoffs in April and May of this year, and now the store is open for all events. It’s located on the main concourse near portal 19 and offers an array of snacks and drinks, including beer, wine, Ampm’s proprietary cookies and Pepsi products.
“Our innovative self-checkout technology allows customers at Chase Center to spend less time in line and more time enjoying Warriors games,” said Ampm Vice President of Convenience Lisa Blalock in the post.
The shorter wait times makes autonomous checkout a particularly good fit for arenas, where customers can miss an important part of the sporting event or concert if they’re stuck in a long line.
The Las Vegas Raiders found that out firsthand. After testing Zippin’s frictionless checkout technology at four locations within Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, it expanded to 10 autonomous stores in July. Allegiant Stadium reported when announcing the expansion that it had seen a near-doubling of revenue per store since piloting the Zippin shops.
“When you pair supply chain automation with frictionless checkout the result is a win-win for both the fan and venue operator,” said Jonathan Nikols, Verizon Business senior vice president of global enterprise, Americas, in the Chase Center post.
T-Mobile Park in Seattle also recently expanded its stores powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology from one to four locations.
This isn’t Ampm’s first foray into sports stadiums. It previously opened a location at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeled. And it’s not alone, with companies such as Allsup’s, GetGo Cafe + Market, Loop Neighborhood Market and Wally’s all opening locations for sports fans.
AiFi has previously worked with Choice Markets on its frictionless experience across its four-store footprint.
Ampm is owned by London-based BP, the oil giant that also its own branded stores, Thorntons, Amoco and TravelCenters of America.
