Retail jobs evaporate as shoppers adjust to self-service

[RamboLiberal]

LOS ANGELES - Automation - long a force in agriculture and manufacturing - is accelerating in the retail sector, a trend that could hamper efforts to bring down the nation's stubbornly high jobless rate.

In an industry that employs nearly 1 in 10 Americans and has long been a reliable job generator, companies increasingly are looking to peddle more products with fewer employees. Shipping and warehousing workers are being replaced by robots that can process packages more efficiently than humans. Virtual assistants are taking the place of customer service representatives. Kiosks and self-service machines are reducing the need for checkout clerks.

Vending machines now sell iPods, bathing suits, gold coins, sunglasses and razors; some will even dispense prescription drugs and medical marijuana to consumers willing to submit to a fingerprint scan. And shoppers are finding information on touch-screen kiosks, rather than talking to attendants.

Corona, Calif., vending machine firm AVT Inc. is designing a fully automated gas station that will dispense gasoline, snacks, bottled drinks, even hot coffee with the swipe of a credit card - and not a single clerk. Some motorists may not like the concept; after all, these stations won't have bathrooms. But AVT is betting that some filling station owners will love it. AVT's smart vending machines don't demand paychecks, call in sick or give incorrect change. They work 24 hours a day and give instant feedback on sales and inventory.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20110308_Retail_jobs_evaporate_as_shoppers_adjust_to_self-service.html#ixzz1G7rC8yRL

And without jobs who the hell will have the money to buy?????

[MilesColtrane]

1. Re: self service

That's Lindsay Lohan's excuse, and she's sticking with it.

[rfranklin]

2. This is an example of why the jobs are not coming back...

Computers can do the job of auto manufacturing workers. They can do the work of an army of lawyers. They can replace customer service and retail people of all sorts. The lack of jobs means no real recovery (not that we should want to go back to the real estate bubble.)

Maybe we can all become mercenaries?