AVT, a provider of automated retailing systems, micro-stores, and kiosks, was recently highlighted in an article in Vending Times Magazine, which ranked the company as a leading player in the burgeoning automated retailing market. According to research firm IHL Group, this rapidly expanding market is estimated to be worth over $1.1 trillion by 2015.
The article, penned by industry veteran Alicia Lavay, president and publisher of Vending Times, summarizes the track record of AVT’s leadership as well as the company’s technology.
“Shannon Illingworth, founder and chairman of AVT has been successful at implementing this concept. For the last five years, AVT has been a leader in developing automated retailing systems, customized kiosks and coffee micro-stores,” Lavay wrote in the article. “For the past several years, there has been a lot of buzz about micro-markets, and a growing appreciation of the implications the micro-market concept has for retailing. Anything that can be identified by a machine — barcoded, for example — can be sold through a micro-market.”
Lavay also explained that the retailing industry has long-explored automated systems as a means for conducting and handling transactions that do not require the services of an actual clerk. In the past, however, these explorations were not widely accepted because the technology for offering sufficient capacity, selectivity, and pricing flexibility simply didn’t exist as it does now.
“For example, if you are running a department store, you would prefer that someone who simply wants six pairs of black socks be able to find and purchase them without tying up a valuable salesperson who should be discussing the availability of sweaters in different colors and sizes,” Lavay wrote.
Lavy concludes that, “There is a huge opportunity for a much wider range of automated retailing. Installing in a retail environment gives store owners convenience plus control.”
For more information, visit www.autoretail.com
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