Category Archives: Scoop.it

News from the retail automation sector

The automated retail industry is one of the two core technology showplaces today (financial Services being #2).

    • Emerging technologies such as robotics, lockers, digital signage, vending and automated vending lead the way.   Amazon and Google revolutionize physical delivery. OuterWall has another great idea (or not).
    • More mature retail technology includes interactive displays, next-generation POS,  mobile interplay, multi-touch, kiosks for self-service, video services, and customer service technology.
    • Companion technologies include ATMs, kiosks, Advanced ATMS,  NFC and thin client.
    • Standards – here we have more regulatory guidelines in play along with more standards than any other industry. PCI, OPOS, JPOS, MPOS,  HIPAA, ADA, UL, CE just to name a few.

Toronto library to roll out book-lending machine at Union Station | Toronto Star

If successful, the library will consider installing the kiosks at stations on the Eglinton Crosstown line and in the lobby of libraries

Source: www.thestar.com

LIBRARY KIOSKS AROUND THE CONTINENT


Contra Costa County, USA: The San Francisco Bay area rolled out Library-a-Go-Go, automated book dispensing machines, at three transit stations in 2008. Each is outfitted with a touch screen that allows users to select books to borrow from roughly 300 bestsellers, non-fiction reads and children’s books. Unfortunately, the machines were closed for at least a year because of the difficulty associated with getting replacement parts from a supplier in Italy.


Ottawa: When the library system installed its two kiosks in 2010, they were touted to be the first of their kind in Canada. The vending-machine style kiosks — one for children and another for adults — allow readers to borrow books, pick them up from adjacent lockers or return them. The kiosks are restocked about three times a week and hold almost 500 items combined.


Vaughan: Rather than dispense books, Vaughan’s Pleasant Ridge library has a machine that offers iPads and laptops to users. The kiosks are available only when the library is open.


Fullerton, Calif.:Originally located in an isolated spot at an Orange County train station, Fullerton Public Library’s book kiosk was moved to just outside the branch to catch more foot traffic. It has a drop box for returns and a selection of about 500 books. The system is also programmed so that users owing more than $5 on their library cards are unable to check out books from the kiosk.

Retail Automation – Carlyle Group invests US$85 million in vending machine operator Ubox to tap China’s evolving e-commerce boom

Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest buyout funds, said on Thursday it will invest US$85 million in Ubox to help expand the Chinese vending machine operator’s network and give consumers a better-quality service. …

Source: www.scmp.com

For several years, Ubox’s customers have been able to shop online via its mobile app and collect their drinks or snacks from its network of interactive vending machines, which now number over 30,000 and are spread across 58 Chinese cities. 

Fast Casual – McDonald’s Owners Face Uncertain Future – Retail Systems

The operators’ six-month outlook for McDonald’s business is the worst in the survey’s 12-year history.

Source: www.businessinsider.com

Same-store sales at US McDonald’s have declined in each of the past six quarters. The company is battling falling traffic, increasing competition from fast-casual chains including Chipotle and Panera, and an eroded brand perception among American consumers.

For the survey, Kalinowski interviewed 29 franchisees who own and operate 208 restaurants in the US. McDonald’s said that represents only a fraction of its franchisees.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-franchisees-are-terrified-for-the-future-2015-7#ixzz3g4g4Gvsp