“Vending machines with style”

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 10:24 PM PDT

The term "vending machine" conjures up images of dropping coins in a slot to buy soft drinks, candy or chips.

That's so 20th century.

Today's newest vending machines are high-tech "automated kiosks" that, with the swipe of a credit card, dispense designer purses, clothing, iPods, digital cameras and beauty products, to name just some of the offerings.

The snazzy machines are winning a following from buyers in grocery stores, malls, airports and even department stores.

While traditional vending machines represent a mature industry whose growth is slowing, the high-tech kiosks "are a new, strong growth area," said senior analyst Toon van Beeck at IBISWorld Inc., a research company based in Los Angeles.

"It's all about convenience," he said, which today's consumers demand.

One of the newest automated kiosks, called Chirp, was installed at five H-E-B grocery stores in San Antonio a few weeks ago.

The Chirp machine at the H-E-B Alon Market recently sported a high-definition display featuring scenes from the new Julia Roberts movie "Eat, Pray, Love." Below that was a glass-fronted "shop" displaying items designed to tempt the movie's fans: silver jewelry, a tote bag and Prada perfume.

Shopper Sylvia Garza hasn't bought anything from the Chirp machine at H-E-B's Fiesta Trail store, but she said she was tempted recently by a white Dooney & Bourke bag that was priced at about $160. "That's expensive, but I think less than the price I saw at a department store."

Chirp spokeswoman Marci Maule said the kiosks' merchandise is rotated on a regular basis. "It's designer fashions brands," she said, adding that Chirp merchandise is discounted from 30 percent to 75 percent off the retail price.

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