Following news Uniqlo has launched vending machines for T-shirts, Retail Week explores the various surprising ways vending machines are being used in retail.

Uniqlo to go

Consumers can now buy everything from oysters to a brand new car from a vending machine. While McDonald’s admits its use of such machines is a PR stunt, other cases may have genuine benefits.

We dig into the quirkier product categories that can be dispensed from a vending machine.

T-shirts

Uniqlo is in the process of rolling out vending machines to ten locations in the US between now and next month. The first such vending machine launched last week at Oakland International airport.

It stocks two of the most popular items from the brand’s LifeWear collection, a lightweight down jacket and a thermal heat-tech T-shirt.

“Shoppers may be prepared to pay a premium for the additional convenience option”

Howard Lake, Planet Retail

They retail at the same price as they would in a Uniqlo store and the touchscreen design of the machine allows customers to pick out their preferred colour and size.

Planet Retail senior editor Howard Lake believes Uniqlo targeting convenience locations such as airports with its vending machines is not just a marketing stunt but could reap dividends.

Lake predicts Uniqlo vending machines in UK train stations could be a rich area of opportunity as these are locations where an appetite already exists for quick and easy clothing purchases, as evidenced by, for example, TM Lewin’s station stores.

“There are questions over who does the restocking, and how to do the packaging, and would it incur any extra cost?” says Lake. “Though shoppers may be prepared to pay a premium for the additional convenience option. It would also make sense if the machines were adjacent to an already-existing outlet to simplify the process and eliminate extra costs.”

“Another even more intriguing question is what other categories you could apply the vending machine model to?” he concludes.

Cars

One such category that seems the brainchild of a science fiction author is the automated dispensing of cars.

Never to do things by half, Tmall owner Alibaba will open a huge garage in China where customers can buy a car on their phone in just five minutes.

Shoppers will be able to browse on their smartphones from a range of cars stored in the massive garage-like structure, make their purchase, and then have the car delivered to them at ground level.

Source: Tmall

Tmall's car vending machine

Yu Wei, general manager of Tmall’s automotive division, says the gargantuan car vending machine “will make buying cars as easy as buying a can of Coke”.

Those with a credit score of over 750 points on Alibaba’s Sesame Credit can select a car online, pay a 10% deposit and drive off with the vehicle.

Further payments are made monthly over Alipay until the car is paid off in full.

Alibaba is following in the footsteps of Autobahn Motors in Singapore, which is selling used luxury cars from a 15-storey building in Singapore.

As space becomes more of a premium in urban environments, the supersizing of the vending machine concept shows there are imaginative ways to adapt to limited space.

Freshly made smoothies

Carrefour has come up with the clever idea of making a normally labour-intensive product, a freshly made smoothie, in a machine.

In one of its Belgian stores customers can select from a range of fruit and veg to create a smoothie for €3.50.

The first generation of the machine, which is made by Belgian start-up Alberts, can make six standard recipes including ‘energy boost’, ‘detox’, and ‘rich minerals’.

Once the smoothie is dispensed the customer pays for it at checkout.

The next iteration of the machine will be released shortly and will allow customers to use an app to create their own recipe by blending three or four ingredients of their choice.

Food vending machines beyond the standard snack machine are all the rage in Japan and a restaurant there requires no serving staff, but relies entirely on automation.

Japanese vending machine restaurant

Groceries

In an era where 24-hour supermarkets are winding down, a grocer in Poland has come up with a solution that could help serve customers seeking grocery essentials at anti-social hours.

Biedronka is experimenting with vending machines that dispense products including milk, cottage cheese, eggs and dog food.

The first such machine was unveiled in Wroclaw, Poland, and was designed to allow customers to pick up products around the clock.

If it proves successful it could be rolled out to tourist destinations throughout Poland with the idea that it will also help alleviate pressure in busy summer months.

Other locations being considered include university campuses, housing estates, and gas stations. Convenience is very much at the top of mind for Biedronka’s machine.

Consumer electronics

Best Buy’s ‘Express kiosks’ prove vending machines can be a big proposition rather than a small-scale novelty.

“While retailers often make no secret of charging extra for convenience, today’s savvy consumer means retailers have to think much harder if considering charging more from their vending machines”

The US electronics retailer has over 200 kiosks nationwide that offer consumers 24-hour convenience without mark-ups, “unlike many airport and kiosk shopping experiences”.

Best Buy proves vending machines can be operated on the same principle as a traditional retail store. The kiosks come complete with a “price match guarantee” that matches prices with the Best Buy store estate and website if they happen to be lower.

The price match comes after the kiosks received negative publicity for charging its customers more for buying the same product from a kiosk.

While retailers often make no secret of charging extra for convenience, today’s savvy consumer means retailers have to think much harder if considering charging more from their vending machines.

Cosmetics

Health and beauty is one industry that has led the way with diversifying vending machines away from fizzy drinks and snacks.

Benefit Cosmetics launched its ‘beauty kiosk’ vending machines in airports as far back as 2013. Airports have now become a popular location for non-traditional vending machines, as evidenced by Uniqlo.

 

Now THAT👆🏼 is our kind of vending machine! Double tap if you agree 😍😍 📸by @denchibitionist

A post shared by Benefit Cosmetics UK (@benefitcosmeticsuk) on

The funky-pink Benefit vending machines are a great example of how the design of the machine can play a role in brand building, alongside simply serving a transactional purpose.

This allows them to really stand out from the more functional airport Boots store or duty-free section.

Airports are also a hot spot for people with time to kill to buy last minute cosmetics before their holidays. Sales in airports helped prop up the health and beauty sector this July, according to the BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor.

Oysters

Changing consumer attitudes in how they shop are perhaps no more in evidence than people’s willingness to buy oysters from a vending machine.

Oyster farmers believe the younger generation are perfectly happy to buy oysters from a machine because their propensity for online shopping means they are unfazed by the absence of a shopkeeper.

Farmer Tony Berthelot sells the oysters in an automatic dispenser on the Ile de Re island off France’s Atlantic coast. Customers can user their card to access and choose the carton of oysters they would like.

Berthelot told Reuters initial sales indicate the machine will pay for itself and is helping them pick up a lot of sales when he would otherwise be closed.