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Tablet computers, which have invaded restaurants and retail stores since the introduction of Apple Inc.’s iPad three years ago, have now begun to see action at sports stadiums.
Alabama State University’s newly built stadium on Aug. 31 became the first such arena to use the iPad for concession sales, according to San Francisco-based point-of-sale tablet vendor Revel Systems Inc., which announced the installation on Monday. At the Hornets’ season-opening football game at home in Montgomery, more than 30 iPads handled 5,721 transactions, a record for the 26,500-seat stadium, Revel said. The iPad POS solution is being used only in fixed concession stands so far, but it could be used by roving concessionaires, the company says.
The deployment represents one of Revel’s biggest projects so far, says Lisa Falzone, chief executive and cofounder of the 3-year-old company, which counts Popeye’s Chicken and Goodwill among its clients. She adds that two other stadiums, which she can’t yet name, have also signed up to use the tablets. “This is definitely the way of the future,” she tells Digital Transactions News.
The advantage of the system for arenas is that it allows managers to track sales and inventory in real time by downloading information from a cloud database, Falzone says. Revel’s software also speeds up transactions for concession sales. For example, the company claims a “streamlined order screen” it created for stadium deployment processes transactions 14% faster than conventional POS systems.
The system also works offline when power fails, Falzone says. While the iPads run on battery power, the app stores sales data and batches transactions for authorization when power is restored. This came in handy during the opening game when power was lost for an hour on one side of the stadium, Falzone says. The company also offer equipment for occasions when power remains on but Internet connectivity fails. Last year, for example, it introduced a wireless router that allows users to operate peripherals such as cash drawers, receipt printers, and card swipers via the iPad’s cellular connection.
Cost could be a consideration, as well. A Revel iPad prices out at $3,300, including peripherals, while a cash-register POS system runs in excess of $8,000, says Falzone.
Observers say the stadium deployment is just the beginning of the tablet’s rising prominence in POS applications. “The tablet form factor is just getting started,” says George Peabody, a senior analyst at Menlo Park, Calif.-based Glenbrook Partners who follows tablet POS.
He warns, however, that outdoor environments like stadiums, combined with hot water, condiments, and other liquids found at concession stands, could take their toll on tablets. “I hope they’re ketchup-proof,” he says of the Revel devices.
But Falzone discounts that possibility. “The iPads have almost no ports or fans to get grease or liquid in them, unlike the legacy systems,” she says.
Founded in September 2010, Revel in June completed a $10.1 million Series B funding round.
