Busy Travelers Snap Up Ipods From Vending Machines
Anita Leopold has a little surprise for anyone who thinks vending machines were created to dispense lightly salted snack food and sugar-laced temptations.
The top treat in the sleek, high-tech machines operated by her company and ZoomSystems at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is a top-of-the-line Apple iPod that fetches $349 before tax. It comes with a money-back guarantee, and it doesn’t drop from anywhere.
A sophisticated robotic arm gently guides the mini-music machine to the buyer’s hands.
“We’ve done about $55,000 in a month in gross sales just for the one on Concourse A,” said Leopold, executive vice-president and owner Business Traveler Services. “This is becoming the future for some high-end products in places like airports where space is at a premium.”
Mark Mullins, Zoom’s executive vice-president, said his company now has machines, which, depending on the location, dispense everything from skin-care products to batteries. They are in more than 300 locations nationwide, including universities, military bases and more than 126 Macy’s stores. Mullins said there are 11 Zoom machines in metro Atlanta.
“We put in some iPods and found we couldn’t keep them in stock,” he said, “We found no customer resistance to swiping a card and buying a $300 item from a machine. We’re selling thousands (of iPods), and the machines at the Atlanta airport are major contributors to that.”
Editor note: Something to consider, the iPods from the machines are delivered uncharged and without any music.
Photo by techrepublic.
Vending machine man on May 25th, 2008 9:10 pm
who would have ever thought we could buy something out of a vending machine for more than a quarter. The convienence is great. I think japan still has a jump on us.
Leave a Reply