- Lafayette College has introduced 'Just Walk Out' tech in Simon’s Market — letting students shop hassle-free via the Transact App or a credit card
- 100 ceiling sensors track product selections in real-time, automatically charging customers upon exit
- Simon’s Market offers nearly 24/7 access, with potential for community use, maintaining current staffing levels
EASTON, Pa. — The first Just Walk Out store has opened at Lafayette College.
Just Walk Out, powered by the campus-focused payment app company Transact Campus, lets students use the mobile app or a credit card to enter the store and pay for their items, streamlining the shopping process without the need to wait in line.
It is now being used in the college’s Simon’s Market of Kamine Hall.
“The accuracy level is very, very high," Labe said. "We actually tested it for a week with about 60 participants and had very good results.”Lafayette College Vice President for Business Services Geoff Labe
“We’re thrilled to be the first college in the Lehigh Valley to offer Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology,” Lafayette President Nicole Hurd said.
Inside the store, there are 100 ceiling-mounted sensors that resemble a combination of security cameras and camera sensors, according to Lafayette Assistant Vice President for Business Services Geoff Labe.
The sensors, working alongside weeded shelves, constantly track items customers pick up or return in the store.
When entering the store, customers can swipe a credit card or use the Transact App. Once a person is scanned in, the sensors in the ceiling link the individual with his or her chosen payment method.
As customers move about the store, the sensors and scales monitor their selections and returns. When the person is leaving, the items detected by the sensors during the shopping trip are automatically charged to the account.
“The accuracy level is very, very high," Labe said. "We actually tested it for a week with about 60 participants and had very good results.”
He said the technology belongs to Amazon, and it has been used successfully in grocery stores that have hundreds of customers walking around.
Possible community use
Simon's Market is open 24/7 except 2-6 a.m. Mondays. It offers fresh food, prepackaged meals and other goods with a meal-equivalency option for students to use with their meal plan.
The store was a cafe-style sandwich shop prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and was closed for three years before the reopening.
When asked if the store may be open to the public, Labe said it’s not impossible.
“But I think in the future, there definitely could be opportunities for community use.”Assistant Vice President Geoff Labe
“I think our focus at the moment, obviously, is getting the store open for students, faculty and staff," he said. "So you do have to scan in because it's within a dorm building to get into the building.
“But I think in the future, there definitely could be opportunities for community use.”
Employment unaffected
Officials said the new payment method will not affect Simon’s Market's staffing.
It sells about 800 items.
“We are offering hot and cold meal options for students, so there are employees that are assigned to produce, you know, to put that together in our kitchens and also employees who deliver to the store several times a day,” Labe said.
“There was no change in our staffing structure at all.”
“There's many colleges in the pipeline now around the country that are either in process or about to open a similar type of store."Lafayette College Vice President of Business Services Geoff Labe
Labe stressed the convenience and need for the store to provide meal options with such technology because it is in a dorm, where students need quick and easy access to food.
Before the official opening, Lafayette had had about 60 students testing the store’s features, and Labe said feedback was “overwhelmingly positive.”
“There's many colleges in the pipeline now around the country that are either in process or about to open a similar type of store,” he said.
