ZoomShops Establish One-of-a-Kind Shopping Experience for Consumers and New Sales Channel for Businesses
SAN FRANCISCO – Jul. 28, 2008 – ZoomSystems is pioneering automated retail, giving consumers a new, one-of-a-kind shopping experience while establishing an innovative, yet proven growth channel for businesses. The company’s automated retail stores, called ZoomShops, are a network of individual, stand-alone 30-square feet stores located in shopping malls, airports and retail. Each ZoomShop is launched in partnership with brands such as Apple, Sony, Rosetta Stone and Proactiv Solution. There are currently more than 600 ZoomShops across the United States.
ZoomSystems is responding to the increased consumer demand for well-applied self-service technology in retail channels, offering greater access and convenience, similar to the way ATMs and self check-in have become so well adopted in the financial and travel industries. “With our first ZoomShop opening in March 2005, we created a new retail experience by capitalizing on the strong market appetite for instant gratification,” says Gower Smith, chief executive officer of ZoomSystems. “We partner with leading brands to launch an automated retail revolution in which the consumer has total control, and the technology is smart, secure and reliable.”
ZoomShops are removed from the competitive clutter of traditional retail and enable brands to place their products directly in the path of consumers; providing an intensively interactive and educational consumer experience. Each ZoomShop is built to provide convenience and immediate product delivery.
“ZoomShops are not high-end vending machines, but automated, self-service stores. ZoomShops are different because they give the consumer access to high-end brands, provide education and shopping information about the product, and are an extremely profitable sales channel. No vending machine can do what a ZoomShop can do. It is a different experience,” Smith said.
Consumers purchase products through a touchscreen user interface on each ZoomShop. Users are educated about cool, high-end brand products through each store’s software program and video display. Shoppers can pay for purchases using a credit or debit card and the purchase of their choice is then delivered immediately by a robotic arm. Patented technology ensures that the card is not charged until the product has been delivered and received by the consumer. The process combines the best of traditional and online retail. ZoomShops provide the intelligence and convenience of an online transaction but with the instant gratification of immediate product delivery.
ZoomShops are remotely monitored at headquarters where the maintenance and security of each automated store is closely tracked. The technology behind each ZoomShop is reliable and collects unique market data for businesses and brands. Each ZoomShop can be modified visually to meet the demands of changing products and brands.
ZoomSystems was recently named Deloitte’s second fastest-growing IT and software company in Silicon Valley. ZoomShops are highly productive, with average revenues of $3,000 to $10,000 per square foot in retail locations, in comparison to traditional retail stores that average $330 per square foot. ZoomShops can be found coast-to-coast in 11 U.S. airports, with average revenues of $4,000 to $40,000 per square foot, in comparison to other airport retail stores which average $1,000 per square foot.