Robotic Nation Evidence

The Really Convenient Store

From the article:

SmartMart is the world's first fully automated, drive-through convenience store. The pilot SmartMart opened last May in Memphis, Tenn., and quickly turned profitable, according to Rivalto. Sales now run about $30,000 a month, he says, and overhead is 62 percent lower than in stores manned by people. Several oil companies are interested, and Rivalto hopes to open 100 new stores by the end of 2005.

If this model works and overhead is 62% lower, then convenience stores can be expected to automate quickly. There are about 130,000 convenience stores in the U.S. If you assume that each one has an average of 4 full-time employees, then as these stores all automate, it pushes 500,000 or so people out of work.

The knee-jerk reaction is for people to think, "There is no way convenience stores will automate. There will always be a person behind the counter." But think back to how quickly credit-card-taking gas pumps have spread. 10 years ago they were rare. Today they are very nearly universal in the U.S.

Read more about it (and see a photos/video) here.