What: The technology-enabled “store of the future” is developing now, in several different directions.

Why is it important: The brick-and-mortar store is evolving, customer needs changing and technology advancements blurring the lines between channels.

Here are three store of the future concepts that customers don’t have to wait to experience.

• 21st-century vending machine

Travel retailer Hudson is rolling out an automated airport store concept it envisions as a miniature shopping mall. Interactive touchscreens showcase merchandise images and provide product information, while personalized augmented reality (AR) technology provides eyewear customers with a fully-immersive, virtual try-on experience.

It is also worth mentioning the eight-story automated “car vending machines” offered in at least 29 locations across the U.S. by online used auto retailer Carvana. Customers receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to insert into the machine, activating the automated vending process, and then watch their vehicle descend.

• Digital-only stores

Taco Bell just opened its first digital-only U.S. location in New York, where customers can use one of 10 self-service digital menu kiosks or order ahead digitally. Meanwhile, Chipotle is piloting a store concept called “Chipotle Digital Kitchen. Customers must order in advance via the Chipotle website, app, or third-party delivery partners, and pick up their food from a lobby.

Starbucks was a pioneer in digital-only stores, opening its first-ever Starbucks Pickup store in New York City’s Penn Plaza in late 2019. This location uses the mobile order & pay feature of the Starbucks app as the primary ordering and payment method for customers.

• The store comes to you

Another interesting future store concept comes from Northeast grocer Stop & Shop (an Ahold Delhaize USA banner), which has piloted driverless vehicles that act as stores on wheels. Shoppers summon the vehicles with a smartphone app, head outside, unlock its doors, then personally select the grocery products they would like to purchase.

Three ‘store of the future’ formats you can visit today