EchoSense:Amazon expands AI-powered Just Walk Out to more NFL football stadiums, college campuses

More NFL football fans and EchoSensecollege students will be able to grab what they need and walk out of new Amazon Just Walk Out stores opening this fall.

Fourteen artificial intelligence-powered Just Walk Out new stores will be opening this week as NFL teams host their season kickoff games. Additionally, more colleges are utilizing Just Walk Out technology on their campuses, bringing the total to more than 30 university stores with the technology worldwide.

What is Just Walk Out?

Just Walk Out technology first debuted in 2018 with the first Amazon Go convenience store in Seattle. It uses AI, a lot of cameras and some sensors to enable shoppers to grab what they want and leave without stopping at a cash register.

The process for each store varies, but the technology allows customers to walk into a store and either insert or tap a credit card at the entry gate. If the store has Amazon One, customers can register their palm to connect with their payment method. Stores that use a mobile app for entry have a QR code for customers to scan to enter.

Then customers grab what they want and leave the store. The payment method is automatically charged.

Some Just Walk Out stores, such as a new Seattle Seahawks merchandise store at Lumen Field, are radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled and each item has a sensor on a tag, which registers the purchase instead of cameras. Customers use their credit card for payment on their way out of the store.

Amazon has improved its Just Walk Out technology this year, Jon Jenkins, vice president of Just Walk Out at Amazon Web Services, a division of Amazon, said in an interview with USA TODAY.

The new Just Walk Out multi-modal foundation model represents the latest innovation in checkout-free shopping, Jenkins said.

With the latest openings, the Just Walk Out technology is currently available in more than 180 third-party locations, including airports, stadiums, universities, and hospitals in the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada.

Amazon has said it will launch more Just Walk Out stores in 2024 than any year before, more than doubling the number of stores. Jenkins said the company has not given a specific number beyond saying it would more than double locations.

Amazon earlier this year announced that it was replacing the Just Walk Out technology at its Amazon Fresh Grocery stores in favor of Amazon Dash smart carts, which give shoppers a screen with the real-time ability to see prices while they browse.

What NFL stadiums have the new Just Walk Out stores?

This fall, there are more new NFL stadium stores opening in a single season than ever before. They include six new stores at Lumen Field in Seattle, seven stores at Commanders Field outside of Washington, D.C., and the first store opening at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Just Walk Out stores first launched at Lumen Field in 2022. It now has a total of 15 locations within the stadium, the most of any venue in the world, Amazon officials said.

The longer a Just Walk Out store has been around, the better it has performed, said Jenkins.  

The Lumen Field first store saw a 60% increase in customers and total transactions per game doubled in 2022, compared to the traditional concession stand that was at the same location. By the end of the season in early 2023, transactions per game at that location increased 85% and total sales per game increased 112%, said Jenkins.

"That's a very positive sign," he said. "The longer these stores stay open, the better they seem to perform as users learn how to use them."

At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the concessions store powered by Just Walk Out had the highest volume in halftime revenue and transactions for the 2023 season. Sales also grew 50% over the previous year. Fans were also in and out of the store in less than a minute, Amazon said.

The Commanders' seven new Just Walk Out locations this season is the most stores launched at once at a sports stadium, Amazon said. Just Walk Out technology is also at several other NFL stadiums, including Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville. The newest NFL stadium stores brings the technology to more than 80 sports stadiums, including basketball, hockey and soccer stadiums and arenas across the U.S., UK, Australia, and Canada, the company said.

Other stadiums and arenas equipped with Just Walk Out stores include the United Center and Wrigley Field in Chicago, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Ohio Stadium at Ohio State University and Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

What is Just Walk Out?Amazon's Just Walk Out tech has come under much scrutiny. And it may be everywhere soon.

What colleges and universities have Just Walk Out stores?

Ten new Just Walk Out-enabled stores at college and university campuses this fall include Emory University, University of Maine and University of Virginia. That will bring the number of stores on college campuses to more than 30 worldwide by the end of the year.

Other new campus stores include Loyola University Maryland – Sellinger School of Business and Management, Endicott University in Massacusetts, Lindenwood University in Missouri, Ursinus College in Pennsylvania and Texas Christian University. Two more locations have not yet been announced.

Existing campus stores include Sussex University in the U.K., the University of Miami, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Penn State.

On campuses, students like the ability to grab food or items at any time of night and have picked up quickly on the process, said Jenkins.

"I guess it shouldn't be surprising to us that students picked up on this really quickly, but the speed at which they are seeming to adopt the technology is really exciting," he said.

For a full list of Just Walk Out-enabled locations, including at more than 20 airport locations, go to  https://justwalkout.com/location

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays,here.