BY KYLE SWARTZ

But Downtown Spirits in Seattle , and its owner Marques Warren , have always embraced new technologies and cutting-edge techniques . So when opportunity arose in 2021 to utilize a checkout-free setup with Amazon , whose headquarters are close by , Warren was interested .

Downtown Spirits Owner Marques Warren has always embraced new technologies .

NEW LOCATION NEEDED The timing was perfect . As Downtown Spirits approached its ten-year anniversary that November , Warren received notice that his landlord intended to tear down the building . Relocation was necessary . Compounding the issue , this occurred at the busiest retail time of the year , and as Warren himself caught Covid-19 amidst the spiking Omicron wave .

Nonetheless , Warren drove around Seattle , sheltering in his car , looking out at potential relocation spots identified by his broker . Around the same time , he learned that Amazon had rolled out its checkout-free retail concept , known as Just Walk Out , which the company was licensing .

The tech was intriguing . Warren had always relied on real-time data and insights at Downtown Spirits , and at airport retail operations he owns . He reached out to Amazon . In early January they responded , and by the end of the month , negotiations were underway . “ That happened concurrently with the site selection ” for the new Downtown Spirits location ," Warren recalls . “ It played out nicely . I had already been with City Hive , and everyone on their team was helpful in helping us fully integrate the new customer experience into our web and mobile .”

Amazon assisted in designing the physical layout of the new store .

“ The checkout-free Amazon technology is a pretty flexible system ; it ’ s not cookie cutter ,” Warren says . “ They helped design a store that fits our brand .

8 Beverage Dynamics • July 2023 www . beveragedynamics . com