
No cashiers in sight! Photo: Courtesy of FC Cincinnati
Cincinnati's TQL Stadium, home of the MLS club FC Cincinnati, is the first pro stadium in Ohio to offer a food and beverage store using Amazon's Just Walk Out technology.
The big picture: The use of advanced cameras allows customers to select items and walk out without interacting with a cashier.
How it works: Customers enter the store through a special gate using a debit or credit card. A limited number of items are available — prepared pizza slices, beer, pop and a wall of chips and popcorn.
- Cameras track customer movement, and sensors on shelves determine which items have been picked up.
- After selecting items, customers "just walk out," and their payment method is charged.
💠Sam's thought bubble: I ventured to Cincinnati with my wife and neighbors for the Hell is Real Derby this weekend and tried out the tech for myself.
- The theoretical efficiencies gained by avoiding lines are outweighed by the discomfort of being tracked with extreme precision and the unpleasantness of not knowing what anything costs.
- You can sign up to receive an itemized receipt at a kiosk near the exit, but that seemed to defeat the purpose of expediency.
By the numbers: My charge from Saturday is still pending, but my credit card statement shows a $33 purchase for a single Tecate tall boy and two Diet Pepsis.
- Even by stadium pricing standards, that's unconscionable.

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