KaBloom Ltd. sees people buying bouquets from vending machines like candy bars, making flowers a routine purchase rather than just for special days. KaBloom, a Woburn firm that has grown to 72 stores in five years, is developing self-serve vending kiosks to turn its vision into a reality. The machines aim to make it easy for consumers to grab flowers on the run with locations in malls, office building lobbies, airports, train stations and other convenient spots. Americans may lead the world in consuming - but not when it comes to flowers. On a per capita basis, consumers in Japan and many European countries buy more flowers than Americans do. "The natural extension of wanting (flower) consumption in this country . . . to increase is to make it easy for the consumer to get (flowers)," said Steven Siegel, KaBloom's chief operating officer. KaBloom franchisees, including one in Darien, Conn., are already experimenting with free-standing kiosks that display about 30 bouquets and keep flowers fresh with a watering system. KaBloom itself is developing kiosks that would accept credit cards or cash. Siegel says the machines will be open, letting consumers touch and smell the flowers before buying. An alarm would sound if someone took flowers without paying. They will be linked to KaBloom stores through the Internet, so a franchisee would know what needs to be restocked. "We'll know the age of everything that's in the kiosk," Siegel said. Michael Levy, a Babson College marketing professor and co-editor of the Journal of Retailing, notes that consumers in Japan and other countries buy more products from vending machines. "For certain types of flower purchases, having lots of convenient locations at a very low cost is certainly a great idea," he said. Levy said space-saving kiosks could also cut costs, giving KaBloom and franchisees an edge. He said franchisees would get one kiosk each, but would have to pay an undisclosed price to get more. Flower shops that have blossomed in supermarkets and mass merchandise stores are driving more everyday flower purchases. Still, KaBloom thinks Americans have a long way to go. Siegel says vending machines make sense in malls, train stations and other locations where rents are too high to justify a store. "These are all logical places where people coming to and from work could pick up a bouquet."
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