Is the real world imitating our online shopping habits?

Vending machines spark new era of convenience shoppingFifteen years ago, few of us would have considered buying a pair of jeans online or ordering the weekly shop, let alone booking a holiday or virtually viewing a house. These days the world of online consumerism is an essential element of our 24-hour, instant-access lifestyle. Doubters said it would never catch on – people wanted to touch products before they decided to buy, they wanted a personal service and a tailored customer experience. Clearly not. Deloitte’s Store of the Future report (March 2012) predicts that four out of ten