Upmarket vending: Automatic sales machine gets makeover

Berlin – A new vending machine is combines the convenient of online retail with the immediacy of physical shopping.

The Berlinomat, designed by Coordination design agency, is in the German capital’s central station and uses the established mechanics of online shopping to automatically sell items to customers. A touchscreen interface mimics the online shopping experience, and gives detailed descriptions of the 42 available products. All the items for sale are designed locally in Berlin and range from clothing accessories to travel essentials to a pepper mill.

But whereas online shoppers have to wait for goods to arrive, the vending machine provides shoppers with their merchandise and a receipt straight away. Soon these vending machines will pop up all over Berlin: Tegel airport and Galeries Lafayette will be next, before being rolled out internationally.

In the Upmarket Vending trend that we have noticed, automatic shopping devices are helping to cut overheads and are adding a premium experience to convenience retail.