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Electronic Highways
An online guide to automatic retailing
You've sworn at them, punched them, perhaps even hip-checked them, and they're so ubiquitous that you would be a rare individual indeed if you have never used one. They've created controversies in schools and passed out lottery tickets, DVDs, condoms, iPods, underpants and cigars. They've even distributed fishing bait and sold life insurance. You've probably guessed by now, that "they" are vending machines.
Automated vending has a long history. According to the Automatic Vending Association, the first vending machine was devised by a Greek mathematician in 215 B.C., and was used to dispense holy water. Machines for postcards and snuff appeared in the late 18th century, but vending did not become popular until the 1880s when coin-acceptor mechanisms could start distinguishing genuine coins from fake. In 1888, the first vending machines were introduced in the United States; they were installed on the elevated subway platforms in New York City and sold Tutti-Fruiti chewing gum. For a nice overview of automated vending, click here.
Today, vending is a multibillion-dollar industry. A recent report found in the IBISWorld database reveals total industry sales of more than $8.6 billion, and employment figures approaching 100,000. Snack and candies account for 32.6 percent of industry sales, soft drinks make up 31.8 percent, hot drinks account for around 8.2 percent of industry revenue and milk products and fruit juices make up 4.5 percent of sales.
Folks are definitely enamored with dispensing machines. Just type "vending machine" in Flickr, Blinkx or YouTube and you'll be amazed with how many hits you come up with. There's a video clip that highlights some unusual machines in Tokyo, one that shows a massive dispenser and a vending machine fantasy commercial from last year's Super Bowl.
If any country could be considered the "vending capital of the world," the title would surely have to go to Japan, where it is estimated there is one vending machine for every 23 people. It should come as no surprise, then, that many innovations in automatic vending first appear in the Land of the Rising Sun. In Japan, you can find vending machines that:
Distribute sushi.
Are designed to reduce garbage.
Offer drinks free of charge after a disaster, such as an earthquake.
Come equipped with security cameras to protect children along school routes.
Communicate with buyers.
With all these innovations, the Japanese may question the truthfulness of the old joke, "change is inevitable—except from a vending machine."
—Don Hartman, University Libraries