Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays went looking for a cutting-edge solution to alleviate the persistent issue of long wait times for concessions. The answer lay in Zippin's checkout-free technology, where fans can shop in seconds - not minutes - even when stands are busy.
They realized this would help redefine the fan gameday experience and wanted to go all-in on this transformation. The Rays took an unconventional approach by selecting the busiest bar in the stadium for a full-scale checkout-free overhaul.
Sure, there was initial hesitation about overhauling a highly profitable store. But, the team was confident in Zippin’s ability to deliver and aimed to stress-test the technology's scalability. By converting the popular Short Stop at Budweiser Porch, they could see how a diverse fan base responded to the technology. Their other goal was to foster a more social atmosphere for spectators by streamlining operations.
Teaming up with Zippin and construction partner Dan Gallery, the Rays successfully retrofitted the Short Stop in just three days. The store opened during the Opening Weekend of the 2023 season. Results to date were nothing short of remarkable:
- 82,500+ fans embraced the checkout-free store
- 7% revenue growth
- 14% increase in transactions
- 25% repeat customer rate
The Zippin-powered store was also the first-ever checkout-free store to integrate with VenueNext by Shift4. This allows fans to pay with mobile payments within the MLB Ballpark app.
Sales were 131% higher than the next-best “grab and go” bar
The success of this checkout-free installation makes a compelling case for investing in large-scale, transformative solutions. There’s no debate that checkout-free technology solves the most common challenges in the food & beverage experience at sports venues: bottlenecks and inefficiencies. So, it makes perfect sense to address these challenges at the busiest concession areas with the biggest bottlenecks for the biggest rewards.
The Tropicana Field case study is a testament to what Zippin’s checkout-free technology can deliver at scale. This go-big approach provides a blueprint for sports stadiums worldwide to elevate their concessions game and create lasting impressions on their fans.
Download the Tropicana Field case study
