The Atrium Market, which will be the first ‘frictionless’ shop in a UK university, will use technology to introduce shoppers to a new concept in retail. Shoppers will scan their payment card on entering, select their food or drinks – then simply walk out.
A range of convenience food will be on sale including hot drinks, baked goodies and instant noodles. Weighted shelves will detect what you are buying as will the scanners as you exit the store, which will be in the space currently used for the coffee tuktuk, a commercial space run by their catering partners.
“We anticipate that the Atrium Market will be a great help to students and staff working around the clock. We are proud to be introducing the first frictionless store of its kind in a university here at Sussex,” says Mark Lawrence from the catering partners Sussex Uni Food.
“This is among a number of firsts since the University’s new catering contract was signed in the autumn, including the first robot server in Eat Central. We are working with Amazon, who are the leading experts in this type of store, for the initial set-up to install and implement the technology needed to make it a smooth experience for our customers.
“Then we will be operating the Atrium Market ourselves on a daily basis, stocking the market with food that our customers tell us they want and need. Apart from a little downtime for restocking, the store will always be open when the student centre is.”
The store will be selling coffee from local brand Redroaster, which is also available in other cafes on campus. It will also stock a range of sandwiches, snacks, Tanpopo sushi and gyoza along with Japanese and Asian halal ready meals, all sourced via Sussex Uni Food’s local supply chain. Work started on 12th January and the store is expected to be live in March.