GRAB AND GUZZLE: Fans take matters into their own hands (and faces) at an Express Beer kiosk at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. (Courtesy Vendor)
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Cleveland Browns Express Beer
The grab-and-go revolution in concessions has increased efficiency in a critical revenue driver for venues.
Shorter wait times means faster throughput and more transactions. The concept minimizes staffing, increasing the bottom line. But there’s still friction: often credit cards have to be swiped and, with alcohol, IDs have to be checked.
The Cleveland Browns took a major step toward whittling down that last little piece of friction in the 2023 season with their Express Beer concept, partnering with Wicket Software, Lava.ai, Tapin2 and concessionaire Aramark.
Prior to the game — or even during the game — fans can upload a selfie either through the Browns website or via a link sent in know-before-you-go emails. That links to Ticketmaster, allowing facial recognition for game entry, but it goes even farther. Fans who submit a credit card and a photo of the front and back of their government-issued ID can use the Express Beer program and, basically, buy a frosty mug with their … mug.
“On the concourse there are specially marked Express Beer stations where there were a couple of bins,” says Wicket’s chief marketing officer, Jeff Boehm. “You grab a beer and at the end of those bins there is an iPad on a stand and you walk up to that iPad and look at it and it recognizes you and says welcome, I see you have a credit card on file, I see you’re over 21.”
An attendant confirms the sale — though even that process will be automated at certain grab-and-go sites in the upcoming season — and the customer is on their way.
“You’ve never taken your wallet out of your pocket, you’ve never taken your phone out of your pocket, you walk straight to your seat and you’re done,” Boehm says.
If it sounds fast, it is. And the stats bear it out.
“If you compare to the other places where you walk through and grab what you want and then go to a cashier and check out and leave, the typical transaction time is around 40 to 45 seconds,” Boehm says. “The typical transaction time for Express Beer is 11 seconds.”
The investment for a venue is a relatively light lift: the only over-the-top hardware is the iPad. Even adding the facial ID, verification and point-of-sale software, the Browns saw a 171% return on investment in the first year of the program. A Bud Light sponsorship defrayed some of the initial cost.
Fans already used to facial recognition for ticketing were quick adopters. From Game One to Game Three, sales at the Express Beer stands increased 80%.
Even the non-Express stands saw customers increase and larger revenues because the new system alleviated traffic, reducing lines.
The system simply needs a power source and internet access to work, meaning it can be rolled out virtually anywhere on the concourse; for this season, the Browns have one planned immediately post-gate, so thirsty fans don’t even have to spend time seeking one out.
From a regulatory standpoint, the city of Cleveland and state of Ohio were happy to approve the change to machine-based age verification, but Boehm says some localities haven’t quite caught up, still requiring a human ID check.
He thinks governments will eventually catch up to the tech, in large part because it’s much more difficult to fool a machine with a fake ID (or someone else’s ID) than a human.
The ultimate takeaway is that cutting wait times by more than 30 seconds means more customers served, more money and happy fans who didn’t have to miss any action.
It’s wins all around and, in Cleveland, those are certainly welcome.
