I don’t like going shopping, I’ll admit. Malls are overwhelming, the grocery store is exhausting, and while I can spend hours wandering the aisles in a bookstore, I often leave without buying anything because I don’t have a list of friends’ recommendations and reviews handy. For books, electronics, clothes, I’m far more prone to purchase things online than I am to go to a brick-and-mortar store. It’s convenient; it’s easy; there are no crowds and no salespeople. It’s the way I like to shop.
But despite all the news we hear about online shopping, recent figures show that it constitutes only about 5% of all retail sales. And as most people do still do their shopping in person, some retail businesses are finding innovative ways to meet some of the expectations we’ve come to associate with online shopping with an offline experience. One way: high-end vending machines.
On the surface, the vending machine might not sound like an innovative technology, these “automated retail stores” are cropping up in airports, malls, and lobbies as alternatives to traditional boutiques and brick-and-mortar stores. The vending machine has its roots in the late nineteenth century, selling postcards and bubble gum, and while it might be associated with candy and cola sales, many of these new machines are vending high-end merchandise: electronics, fashion, beauty products, DVD rentals.
Online shopping and vending machine purchases might sound antithetical, but they have one important thing in common: they allow the consumer to browse and buy without the interference or assistance of a sales representative. Indeed, a study by the NCR Corporation found that 86% of North American consumers were more likely to do business with stores offering some sort of self-service and that self-service technology contributed to a more positive perception of a brand. Vending machines seem to blend this desire for self-service shopping with the instant gratification that the online purchases just can’t fulfill.
These new vending machines have seen significant upgrades, mechanically and visually. They feature touchscreens, not buttons. They accept credit cards, not coins. And according to Mara Segal, chief executive of U*tique, a company that sells boutique beauty products this way, the machines are not “stocked,” they are “curated.” U*tique’s machines display makeup and perfume strikingly, with LCD lighting behind diamond shaped glass. The machines have screens that contain brand information, ingredients lists, and video demos. In other words, these new vending machines combine the technological “wow” factor with a more familiar vending machine experience. You put in your money. You press the button. You open the little door and retrieve your purchase.
These machines are appealing to some retailers as they can help avoid many of the costs associated with brick-and-mortar stores, such as staffing and space rental. They can be easily relocated to high-traffic areas, moving the retail location to the customer rather than expecting the customer to go to the store. And many of the machines have sophisticated methods for monitoring customers’ browsing and buying habits, giving businesses insights into customers’ engagement that cannot easily be tracked otherwise.
And more importantly, perhaps, the machines seem to be appealing to some consumers as well. According to a recent New York Times article on the trend, revenues for vending operators are expected to be $11.3 billion this year, up from $11.1 billion in 2009.
Japan famously boasts one vending machine for every 23 people. But whether these new vending machines will continue to be adopted in North America will largely depend on if they can meet customers’ expectations for a satisfying shopping experience. A satisfying shopping experience, arguably, includes finding the right product at the right price. But it also includes receiving good service. And it remains to be seen if shoppers recognize good service in the form of a vending machine.
