Amazon ‘Just Walk Out’-enabled frictionless stores coming to campuses

Amazon is entering a new partnership that will send its cashierless shopping technology off to college.

The omnichannel giant is teaming up with mobile credential and payment solutions provider Transact to integrate its Just Walk Out frictionless technology with Transact's solutions across college campuses. The two companies expect that stores powered by the Amazon technology will be deployed across campuses via an integrated solution combining Transact’s card system for payments, mobile ordering app for store entry, and Cloud POS for product catalogs, inventory and reporting.

To shop at a campus store location using Just Walk Out, customers (including students and any verified user with a university account) will scan their unique QR code to enter a store. This starts a frictionless shopping session during which the technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves.

When finished shopping, customers will be able leave the store without having to wait in line and the credentials stored in their Transact Mobile Ordering account will be used to pay for the items they selected.

Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will integrate with Transact’s card system for declining balance and credit card transactions. The technologies will also collaborate to unified online product catalogs and reporting data via Transact Cloud POS.

Transact will begin rolling out the Just Walk Out technology integrations in the coming months for early-adopter campuses already using its Transact Mobile Ordering solution, and will open the service for additional campuses later in 2023.

“Together, Transact Mobile Ordering and Just Walk Out technology will create a seamless student experience by eliminating checkout lines and increasing efficiency in transactions,” said Laura Newell-McLaughlin, executive VP/GM, Integrated Payments and Campus Commerce, Transact. “Utilizing Transact Mobile Ordering for store entry and payments unlocks several useful tools for universities and vendors such as stored payment profiles, tender selection, tender discount and taxes, in-app receipts, user segmentation, and transaction recovery.”

Amazon extends availability of Just Walk Out

While Amazon initially launched Just Walk Out for use in its own brick-and-mortar store banners, such as Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market, the company has since licensed it for use in a variety of third-party locations.

Other settings that have seen multiple deployments of Just Walk Out-enabled stores not operated by Amazon include airports and sports and live entertainment facilities. Amazon also offers Just Walk Out functionality at stores located in its own Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.