It’s 3 a.m., your phone is dead, and you lost your charger in the dance club. What are you to do?
Well, if you’re a Manhattanite, Best Buy’s got your back.
Enter Chloe, a one-armed mechanical checkout gal that’s working around the clock at the company’s Chelsea showroom.
Customers can enter the store’s vestibule at any hour and purchase chargers, USB cords, headphones and other accessories through a pair of touchscreen kiosks that control the one-armed dispenser. Chloe then pulls the item from what resembles an oversized vending machine and drops it into a receptacle for the shopper.
Seven more automated kiosks are located within the store. These, Best Buy spokesperson Carly Charlson explained, also dispense CDs, DVDs and pre-owned games along with accessories — 15,000 products in all — which frees up Blue Shirts to assist customers with more complex tech issues.
Formally described as a “robotic storage and retrieval system,” Chloe is a rather large gal at 360 square feet, and is also unique in another way: So far the Chelsea store is the only location in the nation to employ her, as the retailer studies her efficacy.
“It’s a fun and convenient way to purchase grab-and-go items 24/7,” Charlson said.
