“Swipe. Smile. Blow.” Pennsylvania pilots wine-vending machines
From airline kiosks to grocery store checkouts, the increasing use of self-serve technology permits consumers to keep up with today’s on-the-go, automated lifestyle. The use of various automated kiosks in North America, for example, surged in 2010 with consumers conducting $740 billion in business transactions via self-serve devices, according to a published report. The findings, which represent a 9% increase from the $678 billion spent in 2009, derive from IHL Group’s “2010 North American Kiosk Study,”a study available for a fee.
“In a market where self-sufficiency often reigns supreme and time is at a premium, new self service technologies are emerging that will revolutionize the way we shop for goods and services,” wrote the market study’s analysts, Lee Holman and Greg Buzek.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is on this innovative track.
In June, the PLCB announced its business plans to pilot the first of many wine-vending machines slated to hit grocery stores throughout Pennsylvania. The PLCB—the only authorized entity in Pennsylvania to sell alcohol—apparently recognized the self-serve kiosks’ combined value of subsequent revenues, employee management, and consumer convenience capabilities. As a result, there are currently 30 wine-vending machines located at grocery stores across the state and an estimated 100 more are set to roll out in 2011.
Developed by Simple Brands LLC, of Conshohocken, PA, the Pronto Wine Kiosk debuted in June. The kiosks stock state-approved wine products ranging from $5.99 to $39.99 and set at “optimal temperature,” according to the PLCB.
May I see your driver’s license, please?
Accessing the neatly stacked wine behind the vending machines’ glass facades still requires consumers to prove they are of legal drinking age.
A consumer must swipe his driver’s license whereupon the wine-vending machine processes the bar code dictating the consumer’s age. The consumer must also look into a connected camera to match the person with the photograph on the identification. Meanwhile, built-in breathalyzers read the buyer’s breath alcohol level and will reject the sale should a .02 or higher reading is detected, according to the PLCB.
And Big Brother is watching, which the PLCB assures by having a PLCB employee remotely monitor each transaction.
But in less than two minutes, a verified customer can walk away from the grocery store, where wine is not sold otherwise, with unlimited bottles of his favorite Cabernet Sauvignon.
Convenience is not always a smooth business transaction
It’s bad enough when you lose your change to a faulty candy-vending machine. It’s worse when you lose to a wine-vending kiosk and your $40 bottle of wine fails to dispense.
On December 21, 2010, the PLCB temporarily halted its business venture by shutting down the kiosks to address technological and mechanical issues, the PLCB said in a statement.
“While customer satisfaction with the 6-month-old kiosk program remains high, recent problems—such as product not dispensing—require us to take immediate action while we wait for the manufacturer to correct all of the identified issues,” said Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Chairman Patrick J. “PJ” Stapleton in the statement.
The move comes after state Auditor General Jack anger issued a press release indicating he would conduct a “special performance audit” of the wine-vending machines to determine whether the kiosks are delivering additional revenue to the state in addition to the customer convenience they are designed to offer.
