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Article: ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS Vending machines starting to dispense upscale items
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- September 4, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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Vending machines, purveyors of pretzels, soda and other munchie
mainstays, are starting to satisfy cravings for iPods, digital
cameras and DVD movies.
Travelers, hotel guests and visitors to fast-food restaurants now
can use vending machines to buy electronic gadgets and other items
that cost as much as $500.
Companies that are offering these services are hoping that U.S.
consumers, increasingly conditioned by the Web to buy big-ticket
items without a person present, won't hesitate to pay vending
machines for items that cost 500 times as much as a bag of chips.
It is also a gamble that the U.S. market is ready for a form of
automated retailing that is commonplace in Japan and other ...