Ready to Reopen: How Checkout-free Technology is Shaping the Future of Retail and Venue Operations

The economy is reopening and Americans are ready to shop, travel, attend live events, and get back to having everyday in-person experiences again. During the pandemic, retailers and venue operators have embraced change and have innovated to adapt their businesses to the challenges of COVID-19 - and many of these changes are continuing as the economy reopens. The future of retail is here, and it is increasingly contactless, checkout-free, frictionless, and flexible.

In our new white paper, we explore some of the top trends and insights about how retailers and venues are transforming their operations with the advantages of checkout-free technology. Cashierless platforms like Zippin’s are helping drive the reopening of the economy and a “Better Normal” for the retail experience in several ways. 

Sports Venues: Contactless Concessions for a Better Gameday Experience

Sports fans are returning to ballparks and arenas for live sporting events. Many sports teams and venue operators have adopted cashierless concessions and other new contactless experiences, such as mobile ticketing and mobile concessions orders. Checkout-free technology is part of an overall wave of innovation to help make the in-person fan experience more fan-friendly and frictionless.  

Live Events and Conferences: Rethinking Foodservice 

Conferences and conventions are starting up again after a year of cancellations, postponements and virtual events. Events planners are rethinking their foodservice operations to be more flexible, to accommodate hybrid events, and to offer a wider variety of convenient snacks and meal occasions, with a bigger focus on health and safety. Checkout-free technology can help support all of these goals. 

Campus Foodservice: Cashierless Solutions for Dining

College campus dining halls and company cafeterias are revamping their operations to be more frictionless and flexible in what they offer, such as grab-and-go sandwiches and prepared meals. Cashierless technology like Zippin’s can help campuses offer contactless foodservice with a wider variety of product offerings, with 24/7 availability. Instead of waiting in line at a traditional cafeteria, consumers are demanding more fast, flexible options for how to get the food that they want. Checkout-free technology can help create a variety of formats for campus dining, whether it’s an on-campus convenience store, a dining hall with hot prepared meals or sandwiches where customers can grab-and-go, or a micro-market/pop-up grocery store. 

Checkout-free Airport Stores 

Air travel is coming back in a big way, as Americans return to the skies after a year of restrictions. Airport convenience stores and other airport retailers are beginning to offer new options for checkout-free experiences. Cashierless technology is an ideal fit for airports because it can provide 24/7 access, enable smart inventory management, and deliver faster speed-of-service during peak demand times. 

Convenience Stores: Delivering on Customer Expectations 

A recent survey of convenience store customers (detailed in our white paper) found that as a result of the pandemic, customers are demanding a higher level of cleanliness and sanitation, limited in-store traffic, and greater availability of contactless service. Checkout-free technology helps convenience store operators adapt to the expectations of today’s customer, by limiting crowds, reducing contact points, and freeing up store staff for other tasks. 

Cashierless Technology for Hotels and Hospitals 

The hotel industry has adopted a wider range of contactless experiences throughout the pandemic, such as contactless checkin and keyless entry to rooms. Checkout-free technology can also support hotels and other 24-hour institutions like hospitals, by providing onsite convenience stores that are always open. Our white paper describes how Zippin’s partners are working on new formats of convenience stores for hotels and hospitals. 

Grocery Retail: New Checkout-free Store Formats 

Checkout-free technology can be deployed for entire stores, or it can be used on a more flexible basis to create a “store-within-a-store” for grocery retailers. Zippin’s partners are getting creative in using cashierless technology for an express section or dedicated aisle within the store for essential items. Cashierless solutions for a store-within-a-store can help improve speed of service and reduce lines throughout the rest of the grocery retail location. 

Checkout-free technology is the future of retail, and the future has arrived. All of these transformations in the economy are being supported and powered in part by cashierless platforms like Zippin’s. Even as the pandemic hopefully subsides, consumers are going to continue to want safe, convenient, frictionless experiences. Checkout-free technology can help retailers and venue operators put the customer first and reopen for a more resilient future. 

If you're ready to learn more about Zippin's platform—and how it can help your business maximize opportunities in the reopening economy—download our new white paper, “The Great Reopening: Checkout-free Technology and the Next Economic Boom For Retailers and Venues.”