A new collaboration between Pitt, Transact Campus and Chartwell’s Higher Education will bring Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology to the Market at Towers, allowing guests what’s called a “fast and frictionless” way to shop at the campus convenience store.
Registered customers will scan their Transact mobile ordering app at the entrance, enter the Market and choose their items. The Just Walk Out technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves for a “virtual” shopping session. When customers are done shopping, they simply leave the store without waiting in line. The app automatically deducts the total from the customer’s available campus funds in accounts such as Dining Dollars, Panther Funds or Pitt Cash.
“As one of the first universities in the United States to integrate Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology into its on-campus retail environment, Pitt is elevating the student experience by making shopping at the Market at Towers faster, easier and more convenient,” said Matthew Sterne, vice chancellor of business services. “This collaboration enhances our ongoing efforts to leverage innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of our campus community."
In addition to students, Pitt employees also can shop in the Market by downloading the Transact app and linking their Panther Card to pay with Pitt Cash or Panther Funds, or linking credit card. As before, staff and faculty can still pay with cash or card at the check-out counter, a spokesperson for Business, Hospitality and Auxiliary Services said. The redone Market is scheduled to open sometime this fall.
Just Walk Out technology uses artificial intelligence such as computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in any retail environment. This technology is designed to eliminate checkout lines and allow customers to spend less time shopping. Just Walk Out technology allows the Market at Towers to both be staffed as usual as well as operate partially unattended, 24 hours a day.
Amazon first introduced the Just Walk Out technology at its Amazon Go stores in 2018. There are now 22 of these stores, plus Amazon has expanded the technology to a few stores it does not own.
The new shopping experience is possible through Pitt’s collaboration with Transact, which brings “innovative mobile credential and payment solutions” to universities and colleges, according to a news release from Business, Hospitality and Auxiliary Services. Transact currently powers Pitt’s mobile ordering app that allows students, faculty and staff to place their mobile food orders at one of the many on-campus dining locations.
The new technology integration is part of Pitt’s multimillion-dollar renovation of its main dining facility, The Eatery. Together with Chartwells Higher Education, its on-campus dining partner, Pitt is transforming The Eatery into an innovative dining facility, boasting nine dining concepts and state-of-the-art integrations designed to offer Pitt students an exceptional dining experience.
The new dining concepts will offer made-to-order menu items that include custom specialties like handmade pasta, global culinary favorites, Halal-certified proteins, and more.
“Our vision for Pitt Eats includes a robust suite of emerging technologies and industry-leading food service innovations,” said Quintin Eason, vice president of operations at Pitt Eats. “We are proud to collaborate with Amazon as they aid in our vision of a best-in-class dining program.”
The renovation will be completed in phases to ensure that The Eatery continues to be open to serve the campus community. Dining concepts will go offline and will be reactivated in segments throughout the academic year. The entire project is slated for completion in fall 2024.
For more information on The Eatery renovation project timeline, visit TheEateryAtPitt.com.
For more information about Transact, visit www.transactcampus.com.
— Shannon O. Wells