The Motorpoint Arena has become the first venue in Nottingham, UK, to open a checkout-free bar powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology.

The arena is a popular music venue, being the largest live entertainment venue in the East Midlands. It is also the home of the Nottingham Panthers (www.panthers.co.uk) ice hockey team.

The Grab & Glide bar makes it easier and quicker to buy food and drinks so visitors miss less of the action.

To start, visitors touch their contactless payment method on the reader to enter. This pre-authorises a £15 temporary hold on the payment account, but they will only pay for what they take. If the total is less, the difference is released.

They can then choose any drinks and snacks they want, with a selection of products including draught beer, cider, soft drinks, food and confectionery. They then simply walk out through the exit gate.

With Amazon’s Just Walk Out (aws.amazon.com/just-walk-out) technology, the purchase will be charged automatically.

“As part of our ongoing investment in enhancing your customer experience, we’ve partnered with Amazon to launch our new Grab & Glide bar to make getting food and drinks quicker and easier than ever,” said a Motorpoint Arena (www.motorpointarenanottingham.com) spokesperson. “With an average purchase time of just seven seconds, no tills and no queues, it’s a simple tap, grab and glide. That means less time waiting and more time enjoying the event atmosphere.”

The technology does not use facial recognition. Instead, it uses computer vision to match a shopper’s selections temporarily to their contactless payment method. This is only to complete the transaction when they exit the bar and none of the data are stored or linked to their identity.

Grab & Glide has a dedicated accessible entrance, with staff on hand to assist if required.