Remember the Jetsons? You know, the futuristic cartoon with space cars and robot maid service. Apparently, a few national retailers had "TiVo'ed" the re-runs and are now using them to develop a new approach to your shopping experience.
The following is an excerpt from the San Fransicso Business Journal.
"A company called "Zoom Systems" is wrapping its robotic arms around Safeway and Macy's West, both of which are now testing the company's vending machines in different markets.
Safeway is piloting the robotic-arm vending machines in over 12 stores in Southern California, Las Vegas and Denver. Macy's is trying out two in its San Francisco store.
Zoom machines offer retailers an easy, inexpensive way to sell high-end, branded items that customers want, like iPods, without a big commitment of space or staff. The automated retail machines have revenue ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 per square foot. Typical retail revenue averages between $200 and $500 per square foot, said Gower Smith, founder of the San Francisco-based company.
Customers use a touch screen to shop for products much as they might online, and they swipe their credit cards to buy goods. That activates the robotic arm that dispenses the product. Zoom monitors all transactions and inventory levels from a central network.
Zoom opened its first robotic stores last March, and today has 100 in operation, including those at Safeway and Macy's. Each machine has had double-digit revenue growth each month since it opened, Smith said. He expects the trend to continue as consumers become more comfortable with automated retail."
Could this be a case of the "early-adopters" getting the proverbial, "worm"?
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