Travel retailer opens airport store with Amazon palm-based payment
Hudson, a Dufry company, is rolling out the Amazon One biometric payment solution and “Just Walk Out” frictionless shopping at a new location.
The travel retailer has opened the first Southeast location of its Hudson Nonstop “grab and go” store concept at Nashville International Airport (BNA). Offering just over 1,000 sq. ft. of concession space, the new Nashville location is the first Hudson Nonstop store to exclusively offers food and beverage products.
Upon entering the store, customers swipe their credit card or hover their palm over an Amazon One device. Launched in September 2020, Amazon One is a proprietary technology designed to let customers use their unique palm signature to pay or present a loyalty card at a store, as well as perform activities like entering a stadium or badge into work. The solution uses custom-built algorithms and hardware to create a person’s unique palm signature.
After browsing and selecting goods, shoppers are charged for the products they take after they leave the store. Hudson became the first retailer in the travel vertical to deploy the Amazon One platform when it rolled the solution out at its Hudson Nonstop store in Dallas Love Field Airport in December 2021.
Other airport retailers also offer licensed Amazon “Just Walk Out” technology at select stores. Airport convenience store chain Cibo Express Gourmet Markets began rolling out the solution in March 2020, shortly after Amazon made the platform available for other retailers to offer a cashierless shopping experience. And in February 2022, British travel retailer WH Smith began using Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology to provide a checkout-free shopping experience at its first North American store, located in the new Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Meanwhile, in addition to offering Amazon One palm payment technology in its own select Amazon Go, Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pop Up, and Whole Foods Market stores; as well as at its Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Amazon also recently partnered with digital ticketing agency AXS to deploy Amazon One at standalone ticketing pedestals at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre concert venue located in the metro Denver area.
Hudson currently has two other Hudson Nonstop stores powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, including its most recent location at Chicago Midway International Airport, as well as its Dallas Love Field Airport store.
“We are continuing to see strong momentum with the growth of our grab-and-go business,” said Evan Schut, senior VP of food & beverage at Hudson. “This new Hudson Nonstop format is designed to make it easier than ever for travelers to get the best food and beverage products, while still providing them with the same quick and frictionless experience that Hudson Nonstop is known for.”
“We are pleased to introduce this exclusive offering in our program at Nashville International Airport,” said Matt Jennings, VP of Fraport Tennessee. “With Hudson Nonstop’s focus on food and drinks, traveler favorites are within easy reach – snacks, sandwiches, salads, food gifts and more. Travelers can satisfy their cravings and enjoy local offerings at the airport with a simple swipe of their credit card or hovering of their palm. It’s the ultimate convenience and self-serve option for hungry fliers on the go.”
Hudson, operates more than 1,000 stores in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks, and tourist locations.