Delaware North, Mastercard Bring AI Checkout to Jacksonville Stadium

The food and beverage stand operator Delaware North is working with Mastercard to bring its Shop Anywhere platform to a checkout-free convenience store at the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars’ TIAA Bank Field. Located near the stadium’s Section 2, the store is stocked with a variety of prepackaged, grab-and-go food and drink items.

The companies announced the partnership on Friday (Sept. 24), saying that the new store, dubbed MRKT, is “the world’s first commerce experience within a sports venue to feature Mastercard’s Shop Anywhere platform, which allows fans to shop and pay without waiting in line or stopping to check out.”

Supported by the artificial intelligence (AI) company Accel Robotics, the Shop Anywhere platform provides insights and analytics that lets retailers create personalized shopping experiences based on customers’ needs without sacrificing privacy.

“Speed and convenience are the keys to the future of commerce,” said Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of digital partnerships at Mastercard. “The shopping experience needs to evolve to meet the consumer wherever they are, and across whichever touchpoint they’re interacting through.”

Before shopping at MRKT, visitors will register with a QR code that will link to a form of mobile payment. Once inside, they can select products and exit without checking out, with their cards billed automatically.

“Even before the pandemic, our guests valued speed of service,” said James Obletz, president of Delaware North Sportservice. “This new capability creates a no-line experience. They walk into a Shop Anywhere space, select the items and then simply walk out when done. And they can review their purchases and charges on their mobile device.”

Read more: Sports Concessions, Dunkin’ to Test Mastercard’s Checkout-Free System

The partnership is similar to one Mastercard undertook last year with Dunkin, allowing that chain to offer customers a contactless checkout experience. After customers signed in with a QR code, cameras would monitor them as they picked from self-serve coffee selections and pre-packaged snacks and baked goods.

In addition to Jacksonville, Delaware North said it is considering other locations in its portfolio to launch Shop Anywhere experiences.