TULSA, Okla.—QuikTrip (QT) announced the opening of a new location powered by Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology. The non-fuel c-store in downtown Tulsa offers a checkout-free experience for QT shoppers.
“We are excited to expand our presence in Tulsa with our second non-gas location nationwide and we look forward to introducing this new innovative store experience to the downtown Tulsa community,” said Aisha Jefferson-Smith, QuikTrip’s corporate communications manager. “Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology is designed to eliminate checkout lines, enabling guests to enjoy a frictionless shopping experience and get what they need quickly.”
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology at the QuikTrip location allows customers to enter the store using their credit card. Sensors and cameras note what customers take out of the store and charges their account when they exit.
(Self-checkout technology has come a long way, but there is still room for improvements. Here’s how to successfully launch self-checkout in your business.)
The new location is in BOK Tower, and customers can enjoy QT “snackles,” including the nitro coffee station with freshly brewed coffee, as well as its complete menu of grab-and-go items such as fresh donuts, salads, wraps and QT’s signature pizza by the slice. QT Kitchens customer favorites include mac and cheese, breakfast tacos, hardwood smoked BBQ sandwiches and much more.
Since its inception in 1958, QT has become widely known for taking great care of its employees, earning national recognition for creating and nurturing career employees and offering superior employee benefits. QT recently earned a Glassdoor Employees' Choice Award, recognizing the Best Places to Work in 2021.
QuikTrip has more than 900 stores in 16 states and employs over 24,000 people. QuikTrip ranked No. 2 on the Fuel Market News 2021 Fuel Leaders list, a ranking of the top 50 fuel brands in the convenience retailing industry.
Ninety percent of people used unattended retail as much as they had prior to the pandemic or more during the pandemic, and more convenience retailers are exploring ways to eliminate friction for customers, including skipping the checkout line.
Last December, bp partnered with Grabango to integrate checkout-free technology into seven ampm stores in Northern California and three Amoco locations in Western Pennsylvania. MAPCO is launching checkout-free services in two Tennessee stores by fall 2022, and Circle K partnered with Standard AI to install an AI-powered checkout-free system in one of its stores in Tempe, Arizona.
Choice Market convenience stores in Denver offer self-checkout, walkout technology and an app, which all sync and communicate with each other. In early 2022, Choice c-stores and St. Louis-based Health Hospitality Partners partnered to create the first autonomous markets in a health-care setting.
Read more about frictionless checkout systems in “Self-Checkout Strategies” in the March issue of NACS Magazine.