Science - Vending Machine

For all you want, there's a vending kiosk

       Vending machines in neon splashed Tokyo have electronic eyes that evaluate customers' skin and wrinkles to determine whether they are old enough to buy tobacco. In bathrooms at upscale Canadian bars, vending

machines with flat irons enable women to defrizz their locks. In Abu Dhabi, the lobby of a luxury hotel has a vending machine that dispenses gold bars and coins at more then $1,000 an ounce.

       A new breed of vending machine is proliferating around the world. Flashy and futuristic, souped-up machine are popping up everywhere, be it the Mondrian hotel in Miami or at Macy's in Minneaplis. They have touch screens instead of buttons, facades that glow and pulse, and technology intended to blunt vending machine rage - sensors that ensure that a customer's credit card is not charged unless the chosen item has dropped These machine are not for quarters: purchases are measured in dollar amounts that typically start at two figures and go up.

     Changing consumer preference about shopping and the high cost of operating brick and mortar stores are inspiring premium brands to rethink how they sell their wares. As Gower Smith, whose frim, Zoom Systems, has created about 1,000 automated kiosks called Zoom Shops, put it, "A Zoom Shop costs less than an emplyee."

       And with examples overseas showing there is money to be made, the so-called automated retail store (the term vending machine is so Industrial Revolution) is venturing into fashion, beauty products, electronics and more.

        A couple of months ago, the Body Shop cosmetics franchise began offering skin care products in deluxe machines at airports; soon will come shopping centers. Quick silver offers board shorts and bikinis in machines at hotels.

         A study published in 2008 by NCR Corporation found that 86% of North American consumers were more likely to do business with companies offering some sort of self-service. many respondents also said they had a more positive perception of a brand if it offered self-service technology. This appears to be especially true of young shoppers.