Tech
Eagles opening two cashierless concession stores at Lincoln Financial Field
The “On the Fly” Express Shops are a collaboration between the team, Verizon and AiFi.
Perry Knotts/Getty Images
The Philadelphia Eagles are opening two cashierless concession stores at Lincoln Financial Field this month, branded as “On the Fly” Express Shops. After a soft open on Sunday, the stores, located at the venue’s main concourse and Pepsi Plaza, will be open for all Eagles games moving forward. The finished product represents a collaboration between the team, Verizon (which aids in designing the stores and provides the 5G network underpinning the frictionless experience), and AiFi (which provides the computer vision technology that identifies customers’ desired items within the stores).
From fans’ perspective, shopping “On the Fly” involves providing a form of payment through an NFC reader at an entry turnstile, entering the store and selecting their desired items, then exiting, with payment automatically processed on the way out. Users can also register for a receipt to their email or a mobile app through a QR code. While shopping, computer vision-enabled cameras installed around the stores are trained to track items as they are picked up, put down, and taken out of the location, which triggers payment.
Verizon has worked on similar activations with professional basketball, football, and hockey teams. AiFi is also a portfolio company of Verizon’s investment arm, Verizon Ventures, which participated in AiFi’s $65 million Series B round last March.
Jonathan Nikols, Verizon’s SVP of Global Enterprise Sales, told SBJ the company has found a “20% improvement, at minimum, in terms of speed of checkout” at cashierless concession locations compared to traditional stands. Pre-packaged snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at the Eagles’ shops. Nikols declined to comment on the cost of implementing the Eagles’ stores, or the duration of the term for which they will be at Lincoln Financial Field, but noted that the cost, design, and size of the shops varies by venue.
“Each one of these implementations is, I would say, a little bit bespoke,” he said. “But once you get that all done, [the installation] goes fairly simply – I would say, in the matter of less than a week.”
