CATEGORIES
- WEB STARTUPS
- CONFERENCES
- WEB JOBS
- MICROSOFT
- INTERVIEWS
- VIDEO
- AMAZON
- ALL TOPICS
CONTRIBUTORS
Best Buy Launches Express Vending Machines
The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Best Buy has entered the vending machine game by powering a machine at the Dallas airport. The machines sell all sorts of electronic items from iPod media players to headphones to digital cameras. The only airport I’ve seen these vending machines in so far is Atlanta. But I am sure they will be in all airports soon – the profit margins are just too high not to be everywhere.
My belief is that these machines would sell at an even better percentage if they provided devices that were already charged. And the ability to buy media from the machine (i.e. iTunes) and have it loaded on the device also could be hot. At a minimum these machines should offer charging stations – buy the product, open it and you are given a lockbox to plug in the device and lock it for a period while you wait for your flight.
Back in May we reported on the launch of electronics vending machines at Macy’s stores on the east coast.
[...] the future of retail shopping? Macy’s installed vending machines to sell electronics. Best Buy has vending machines in airports around the U.S. When I look at how much real estate a Blockbuster store occupies and [...]
Wow that’s an idea we would have never thought of. How successful could these types of vending machines be? Usually when buying an iPod and a camera – you’re not impulsively buying… for most it’s a process that takes a bit of researching and thinking about. It’s not like most go traveling through the airport with an extra $200 to drop randomly. Seems a bit strange… but it will be interesting to see how it fairs.