Consumption: Will lockers replace retailers?
Trying to preserve local businesses is a struggle for many mayors of small towns. In response to this phenomenon, vending machines are expanding rapidly, operating 24/7.
In the heart of Haute-Vienne, a village of 840 inhabitants has a rather unusual supermarket. Here, there's no cashier, but 138 cubbies. "You look at what you fancy, type in the number you want, it's added up gradually, and then you pay with your credit card," explains a Toulouse resident visiting for the weekend. The delicatessen, eggs, cheese, fruits, and vegetables are harvested by nine farmers, all located within a 20-km radius.
Among them, Samuel Murray, a pig farmer, restocks twice a week. “We're largely successful because we don't have to spend time on site making sales. The interface manages everything; we just restock the products. We set the price ,” explains the farmer. Expect to pay between three and ten euros for each product. Lockers are the only solution found by the mayor, who is seeing the shops in his town closed.
Watch the full report in the video above
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