CINCINNATI, May 20 (UPI) -- Macy's plans to install 180 iPod vending machines -- made by a San Francisco company -- nationwide by fall, its chief executive said Friday.
"This brings most-wanted merchandise into our stores in a unique new way," chief executive Terry J. Lundgren announced at the annual meeting.
Macy's has signed an agreement with Zoom Systems, an iPod vending machine company in San Francisco, to supply the machines, called Zoom @ Macy's.
Todd Jones, a retail analyst at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, said the price of iPods could make that area of Macy's one of the most profitable, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
"This is not a real big risky proposition and is probably a move to become more relevant with a host of age ranges," Jones said.
Purchasing an iPod out of a vending machine could probably be categorized as an impulse buy, Jones said.
