DOWNTOWN SPIRITS TO OPEN FIRST-EVER CHECKOUT-FREE BEER, WINE, AND SPIRITS STORE POWERED BY AMAZON’S JUST WALK OUT TECHNOLOGY

Photography by Flyright Productions, LLC

Grand opening slated for Thursday, August 10

SEATTLE (JULY 31, 2023) – Downtown Spirits, Seattle’s premier beer, wine and spirits retailer, today announced it will open the doors to its new, 4,200 square-foot location on 7th Avenue between Olive and Stewart, across from Pacific Place, featuring a fully checkout-free shopping experience powered by Amazon Just Walk Out technology.

The grand opening will be Thursday, August 10 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Downtown Spirits is the first-ever beer, wine, and spirits retailer to implement Just Walk Out, technology made possible by artificial intelligence like computer vision and deep learning techniques, including generative AI, to accurately determine who took what in any retail environment. Amazon built synthetic datasets to mimic millions of realistic shopping scenarios—including variations in store format, lighting conditions, and even crowds of shoppers—to ensure accuracy in any environment.

The effortless experience with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology:
● Guests enter the store by using the Downtown Spirits App at the front door.
● The technology detects what shoppers take from or return to the shelves, and creates a virtual shopping session.
● When guests have completed their shopping experience, they are able to leave the store without having to wait in line, and their choice of payment method will be charged for the items they took with them.

“This technology allows us to streamline the in-store experience for shoppers and build on our reputation as Seattle’s finest merchant of wine and spirits,” said Downtown Spirits president Marques Warren.

“As a Seattle-based company with our headquarters only blocks away, we’re excited to see this cutting-edge purveyor of wine and spirits adopt Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology,” said Jon Jenkins, vice president, AWS. “Customers at Downtown Spirits will soon find an entirely frictionless way to purchase their favorite beverages.”

Connecting Downtown Spirits with Amazon Just Walk Out technology is CityHive, which provides Inventory management, customer identity and age verification management, checkout and payments capability. The company processes more than $1 billion in payments annually.

Downtown Spirits’ new location will carry a selection of 1,100 wines, including many rare and renowned Washington wines; 1,200 spirits, including a wide selection of local expressions; and 500 beers, half of which are local Washington state brews.

For shoppers who wish to order ahead, pop in and pick up, Downtown Spirits is relaunching its website at downtownspirits.com. Through the site, individual consumers can join the Downtown Spirits Co-op and receive benefits such as unlimited free deliveries, savings on co-op item purchases, and access to limited releases. Business memberships are also available and can be applied to up to 100 qualifying delivery addresses.

Downtown Spirits
1813 7th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101

Hours of operation beginning August 10, 2023:
● Sunday 11 AM–7 PM
● Monday 10 AM–10 PM
● Tuesday 10 AM–10 PM
● Wednesday 10 AM–10 PM
● Thursday 10 AM–10 PM
● Friday 10 AM–12 AM
● Saturday 10 AM–12 AM

About Downtown Spirits
Downtown Spirits is an independent spirits, wine and beer retailer in Seattle. The beverage retailer is a subsidiary of Warren’s News & Gift, a family-owned business founded in 1994 that—in partnership with travel retailer Dufry—operates 21 stores at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport including Hudson, Hudson News, Coach, MAC Cosmetics, Filson, Pike & Pine, Tumi, Elliott Bay Books and Alki Bakery. Visit downtownspirits.com for more information or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Media inquiries:
Colin Baugh
Emblem Public Relations
Colin@EmblemPR.com
323-219-3427
emblemPR.com