There's a vending machine for that: Why automated retail is becoming more the norm
CBC
Vending machines have taken a new, upscale form in the Canadian market, and experts say the pandemic, along with more innovative technology, have spurred this shopping trend.
Most recently, "Cake ATMs" have been installed at 25 shopping centres. Most are in Ontario and Quebec, but four are in Calgary. The individually wrapped slices are shipped daily from the United States by Carlo's Bake Shop — otherwise known as the Cake Boss.
And getting your hands on one seems like a piece of cake.
"It just seems quick," said Calgary customer Andrew Venini. "You can see all the selection right there, and all you got to do is deal with the screen."
Globally, the industry is expected to see 10 per cent annual growth each year until 2027, and big Canadian companies like Sport Chek, Canadian Tire, Rexall and The Source have all started to invest.
Shamira Jaffer is the president and CEO of Signifi Solutions, a vending machine supplier based in Ontario that has tapped into automated retail on an international level.
Her smart machines are located across the world in hospitals, malls, airports and grocery stores.
But her Canadian clients have recently wanted more of an in on the action during the past two years, and she attributes it to customers being more comfortable with online shopping.
"Today, people are buying stuff unseen, based on a picture and some words," she said.
"I think there's been a big shift in people's behaviours. There's a lot more trust, so they'll go and buy from [vending] machines as long as the brand is recognizable."
Jaffer says the look of the machine has also started to change and can be more curated to fit the brand, as well as be able to dispense different shapes.
"Build-A-Bear is selling bears out of our machines, but it's hard to dispense so we created a special holder that can dispense the bear without it being in a box."
What's inside has also become more upscale, with some customers spending $1,200 just to buy tech at the airport, she said.
"It took the retailers a little bit of time to realize that customers are adopting. And now I think retailers are realizing that, 'you know what, this makes a lot of sense,'" she said.
It’s been a year of relearning how to live for a 41-year-old Wawa woman.
Prospectors staked claims around Nova Scotia in high numbers this year after Premier Tim Houston unveiled his new open-arms approach to natural resource development.
The Holt Liberals have found a way to keep their promise of lower gas prices just days before Christmas.
A man convicted of human smuggling last year has asked a United States court to continue his appeal without a lawyer, in a case where a family from India froze to death near the Manitoba-U.S. border in 2022.
The dream of those who wanted to breathe new life into Saskatoon’s bus barns in Caswell Hill is expected to come tumbling down next year.
Jill Finn is still haunted by the voice.
P.E.I.'s deputy premier Bloyce Thompson is expected to be sworn in as the province's next premier one day after Rob Lantz announced his resignation from the role and his bid for the permanent leadership of the province’s Progressive Conservative Party.
WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
The Ontario government has sided with the City of Hamilton in its push to continue a long-delayed James Street N., housing redevelopment, which proposes the creation of several hundred homes in the north end.
There's still no timeline on the official designation of an Ojibway National Urban Park — and a Parks Canada representative is asking the community to adjust its expectations.
As the cost of groceries continues to increase, one Edmonton organization is harnessing the power of bulk buying to ensure its members aren’t going hungry at a critical time every month.
A drug alert has been issued in Thunder Bay, Ont., over a toxic substance first found in Toronto earlier this fall.
Ontario’s municipal affairs minister says the province will move forward with a much-delayed mandatory review of the Greenbelt, but opposition critics say there's still no word on when the study of the ecologically sensitive zone will take place or who will conduct it.