Stadiums. Pop-up shops. Concert venues. These are some of the toughest places in retail to run a checkout line. Crowds move in bursts, patience runs thin fast, and every extra minute at the register is a sale walking out the door unbought.
Just Walk Out technology by Amazon offers RFID lanes solve that problem directly. The system reads tagged merchandise the moment a shopper steps up to pay, works with the payment methods retailers already accept, and can go into a store in as little as a day.
The technology has drastically improved the fan experience by eliminating checkout lines.
What is RFID technology, and how does it work?
Radio frequency identification tracks items using radio waves instead of barcodes or cameras. A shopper browses the store like normal, picks up tagged items, and walks to an RFID lane. They tap a card or mobile wallet. The lane reads every tagged item in range and charges the payment method automatically, all within milliseconds.
The system has two parts: tags and lanes. Each tag holds a microchip that stores and transmits a unique identifier, which cuts down the risk of one item getting mixed up with another. Just Walk Out sources its RFID tags through a partnership with Avery Dennison, whose lineup runs from standard hang tags and UPC-integrated labels to branded, embellished options built to Auburn RFID Lab Certification (ARC) specifications.
When a shopper carrying tagged merchandise reaches the exit, the lane’s embedded readers pick up each tag’s signal, decode the identifiers, and send that data to the host system. Just Walk Out supplies the lane hardware, the tag printer, the printing interface, and the handheld tools stores need to run it. The retailer supplies power, connectivity, and tags the merchandise. Everything syncs with the point-of-sale, ERP, loyalty, and payment systems a retailer already runs, so existing inventory and analytics workflows don’t have to change.
What types of stores use RFID lanes?
Just Walk Out RFID lanes can go into a retail space in a day. Because the lanes adapt to spaces of any size, operators can reconfigure a layout without changing out infrastructure.
Apparel stores, pop-up shops, and softlines retailers selling clothing, accessories, and sporting goods are the clearest fit. An empty room becomes a seasonal shop. A stadium concourse becomes a merch stand for the night.
At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, fans shopping for gear can get back to their seats before kickoff instead of standing in line.
“The technology has drastically improved the fan experience by eliminating checkout lines. I’m also looking forward to implementing the RFID tagging across our venue for the inventory management capabilities before the next season. That’s just as big, if not a bigger opportunity, than speeding up checkout,” said Lauren Gurley, senior manager of retail operations, Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium & Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
The benefits of Just Walk Out RFID lanes
In pilots, RFID lanes delivered checkout speeds up to 4 times faster than traditional POS systems, a 40% reduction in required labor to operate a store, and reduced cycle count time by 96%. Retailers also get the flexibility to run RFID alongside or independent of a traditional register.
For large venues, that shows up in real ways. Groups can pay once and walk out together, useful during a concert intermission or a halftime rush. Apparel and merch retailers handle Black Friday or holiday peaks without a line snaking around the register.
Four things stand out:
- Mobility: lanes move and reconfigure for temporary or permanent setups.
- Flexibility: works with existing payment, POS, and loyalty systems,
- Accuracy: reduces resources needed for cycle counts.
- Versatility: runs alongside a traditional register or handles checkout on its own.
At Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, Delaware North runs Easy Out, a Just Walk Out RFID store.
“Transaction times on average were a scant 10 seconds at Easy Out, a fraction of the time it typically takes to purchase caps, jerseys, t-shirts, and novelties at a traditional team store,” said Casey Rapp, general manager at Delaware North, which operates the store at Texas Rangers Globe Life Field. “The RFID system scans every item at once, whether a fan has 50 pieces or one piece of merchandise in their hands.”
RFID, or radio frequency identification, tracks merchandise using radio waves and a microchip embedded in each tag. Shoppers pick up tagged items, walk to an RFID lane, and tap their card or mobile wallet. Within milliseconds, each tag responds with a unique identifier that reduces the risk of product mix up and improves accuracy. The lane receives and decodes the tag identifiers, processing that data and sending it to a host system.
Apparel stores, pop-up shops, and softlines retail settings offering clothing, accessories, and sporting goods all make ideal use cases for Just Walk Out RFID. These lanes install in as little as a day and adapt to spaces of any size, from a stadium concourse to a seasonal pop-up shop.
In pilots, RFID lanes delivered checkout speeds up to 4 times faster than traditional POS systems, reduce the labor needed to run a store by 40%, and reduced cycle count time by 96%. Retailers also get the flexibility to run RFID lanes alongside or independent of a traditional register.
