7-Eleven Inc. has followed through on a promise it made a few years ago when it first introduced Vcom financial services kiosks to its stores: It has added an e-shopping feature to them.
The convenience store chain said Dec. 11 that its 1,000 Vcom terminals can now be used to buy books, flowers, luggage, movie tickets, toys, prescription drugs, and vitamins. It timed the announcement for the holiday gift-buying season, and used the term "shopping mall in a box" to describe the addition.
Those who already have Web access may not rush out to 7-Eleven to buy things: There is a $1 service fee for each purchase made through a Vcom.
One unusual wrinkle is that people will soon be able to use either cash or a credit card to pay for items on the Vcom, said Brady Giddens, 7-Eleven's managing director for Vcom.
The Dallas company issues Vcom membership cards, which currently can be used to cash checks at Vcom kiosks. A function being added next year will turn the membership cards into stored value cards that can be loaded with money and used to pay for goods online.
7-Eleven's partner in the arrangement is Cyphermint Inc. of Marlborough, Mass., which recruits e-retailers for Vcom. The program has signed up a few well-known merchants, such as 1-800Flowers.com, along with lesser-known ones including ebags.com and TopWebBuys.com, and 7-Eleven said it is negotiating to bring on other name e-tailers.
Cyphermint offers a system called Pay Cash that enables the cash payment aspect. The companies are positioning the service as an alternative for customers who do not have Internet access or a credit card or prefer not to use their credit card for Internet purchases.
Mr. Giddens said that though check cashing, money transfers, and cash dispensing remain the Vcoms' central functions, "We wanted to broaden the offering to offer our current customers a convenient way to shop online."
The machines can also be used to buy Western Union money orders. Verizon customers can view and pay their residential phone bills, order calling features, and request repair service. Future enhancements will include bill payment services provided by e-Money Systems and car and motorcycle insurance from Public Access Insurance, 7-Eleven said.
