In a shopping environment where more consumers seem ready to trade down from steak to chopped meat, will grocery store customers be willing to pony up hundreds of dollars to buy an iPod or other high-tech gadget from a vending machine?
ZoomSystems, the manufacturer of the said vending units, believes so and the company has installed its luxury product machines at 15 Vons in California. Fourteen of the units are stocked with consumer electronics while the other has a selection of Proactive skin-care products.
Stephanie Bowler, a marketing representative with ZoomSystems, told The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., 'Supermarket shoppers often make the majority of a household's purchases, including necessities and gifts. There is definitely an impulse opportunity here, but it is also about providing the products that shoppers want and need in locations that they already frequent, such as the supermarket.'
Shoppers who spoke to The Press-Enterprise seemed reluctant to use the ZoomSystems vending machine. Those quoted by the paper indicated a degree of intimidation when it came to working the vending unit.
Teena Massingill, a spokeswoman for Vons' parent Safeway, said no determination had been made as to whether the ZoomSystems vendors would be rolled out to additional stores.
'We're still determining where we're going to go from here with the system,' she said.
Discussion Questions: Do you see an opportunity for vending units to bring items such as consumer electronics and luxury skincare brands into supermarkets even though those products would not normally be sold in those stores? What will these units help grocers learn about consumers in their stores?