Called the Atrium Market and powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, the store is located in the Student Centre, giving people access to food and drink 24/7 while they study around the clock. Students can access nutritious items such as sushi, sandwiches and coffee.
Students simply use their credit card or mobile wallet to enter. Once inside, Just Walk Out technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves and creates a virtual shopping session. After they have finished shopping, students can leave the store without having to wait in line.
The store has been met with an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ reception, averaging £3,000 in sales every week, with coffee as the biggest seller amongst students. The busiest hour is from 12-1am helping to fuel students’ late night learning.
Mark Lawrence, contract director at Chartwells Universities, said: “It’s fantastic to bring this technology to the University of Sussex. We are always seeking to innovate and improve the student experience across campus, and we are confident this latest opening provides flexibility and choice for students. We’re delighted to hear that it’s already had such a positive impact on their university experience.
“We work closely with the University to implement student feedback by introducing modern food concepts, including Atrium Market, Eat Central and the campus’ fully vegetarian café, The Veg Bowl @ Dhaba. Students can also use our Uni Food Hub app to click and collect food, purchase meals from their table to avoid queuing, order food straight to their halls of residence.
“This is just the latest in a series of on campus innovations, as we continue in our mission to deliver our food offerings with care across our universities, in ways that make sense to students.”
In March, the Sussex University’s ACCA café became the first campus eatery to introduce carbon labelling, with plans to extend the initiative across all on-campus venues run by Chartwells in the new academic year. The main dining hub Eat Central is currently undergoing renovations to become a flexible, eco-friendly space for both daytime and evening activities.
Helen Power-Hosking, head of commercial services at the University of Sussex, added: “Since we launched our new contract last summer, Chartwells Universities, has been working hard to deliver what our campus community wants.
"One of the things that we heard in our 2022 consultation was that students wanted longer opening hours, so we hope that this new store is a quick, easy and convenient option for anyone working late in the Student Centre or in our residences.”