>>Vending Machines Make Gains As Retail Jobs Drop
(U.S. National Public Radio at
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/04/134261886/vending-machines-make-gains-as-retail-jobs-drop
)
>> Now that it's common to see self-service kiosks at groceries and
airports, are we ready for completely self-service stores? Note that
in this case, "Self-Service" is the preferred term for "soullessly
automated and cheap." And by "ready," I mean: Do those salespeople
have other jobs lined up — and are the rest of us up for losing yet
another source of human interaction?
>> Today's news that the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs came with
the caveat that despite growth elsewhere, retailers actually cut back
their payrolls.
>> And a story by Alana Semuels in today's L.A. Times suggests a possible
>> reason: vending machines. Pinched by a weak economy, retailers are desperate
>> to become more efficient [following the standard definition, which is in
>> totally private terms, i.e., meaning lower private costs and more
>> profitable]. And it doesn't get a lot more efficient than a vending machine.
>> They don't need benefits, or even a paycheck. They don't steal or call in
>> sick, either. And to top it off, they also have strong math skills.
>> Noting that there were 1.1 million fewer retail workers in January 2011 than
>> there were in January 2008, Semuels gives us this breakdown:
> Retail employment has barely budged over the last year despite
stronger sales at major chains. Meanwhile, $740 billion was transacted
through self-service machines in 2010, up 9 percent from 2009, said
Greg Buzek, president of technology research firm IHL Group of
Franklin, Tenn. He projects that will rise to $1.1 trillion by 2014.<
>> We've written in this space about the trend to put just about anything in
>> vending machines — like live crabs in China, for instance.
>> Semuels found some other examples, like the Standard Hotel in L.A. that
>> sells bathing suits and suntan oil in its vending machines at its rooftop
>> pool. And a German company says its machines that sell gold coins have been
>> a hit.
>> In California, a company called AVT Inc. is fine-tuning its idea of a
>> completely automated gas station.
>> Of course, there are some things you just can't automate. Like the way
>> accents gradually shift as you drive across the country. Or how asking a
>> clerk about where to find the best barbecue can prompt a rambling discourse
>> on county, state — even national — history.
>> Of course, drivers might miss something else even more when they zip into
>> the fully automated gas stations of the near-future: bathrooms.<<
This depends on the law: there was a period about 25 years ago in
California, where gas stations weren't required to have bathrooms. It
did not "go" over well, so the law was changed.
>> But perhaps all is not lost. As reported on Morning Edition in November, a
>> vending machine in Japan uses facial-recognition software to make
>> recommendations about what its customers might like, based on their age and
>> gender.
>> Maybe next, they'll make a machine that is so slow in doing its job that
>> customers waiting in line have no choice but to make eye contact, shrug...
>> and smile.<<
Of course, technological unemployment is less serious when over-all
demand growth is higher -- or if it's easy to move to other
occupations, such as building and fixing vending machines.
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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