I think it makes sense whatever way you get around. If people value something, by and large, they'll pay for it.

Most people want to get their shopping done quickly and efficiently.

However, I could easily see niches keeping people around. The first thing that comes to mind is a higher end sort of place where customers want some knowledgeable help in selecting what they're buying. Spend some money on a few people who know their products well and give good advice, and maybe have time for some chit chat.

It also depends on the state and stage of one's life. For instance, as a student, I loved chatting up clerks in grocery stores. I actually met my SO this way. Being older and working full time now, I would vastly prefer to never visit any store ever, and buy everything on-line. It's not cheap enough yet though, so that's why today after work I'm visiting the cheapest store around to restock my fridge...

Yeah, I could easily see things kind of sorting out along some lines like that, just like we have everything from 'convenience stores' to small local markets to supermarket chains to Costco.

    > This makes sense from a suburban, car-based perspective.
    > From a walking, city-based lens, ...

Funny, I'd have said if there was a distinction between driven-to and walked-to locations, it would be the opposite: if I've already taken the time to drive there I'm likely not in that much of a hurry.

Someone else points out the security benefit of a cashless store, which again I'd have thought is more of an advantage to the high street shop than the suburban warehouse-like supermarket.

> It's why coffee shops haven't been made obsolete by vending machines

I really don't think that's why. Vending machines can't compete with humans still for freshly produced goods. There have been a few shots across the bow, but producing food that requires adjustment is still beyond the range of our sensors.

I can't imagine a robot "dialing in" an espresso machine based on taste like a barista would, at least for another decade.

I think if someone made a vending machine that actually makes coffee the way a barista would, instead of pouring hot water into dried powder of random chemicals, I'd never ever visit a coffee shop again. But as it is now, vending machine coffee tastes so bad it's almost a separate category of awfulness (and don't get me started on vending machine tea...).

It's not quite a vending machine, but Nespresso has replaced going to the coffee shop for my morning espresso. I think it does a better job than Starbuck, personally.

But I go to coffee shops for the productive atmosphere. I think baristas (and bartenders and sommeliers) will always have a place even in a post-work world.

How does a barista offer that, versus simply visiting an interface (app, browser), clicking a button, and having it delivered to your table by a robot within five minutes?

I don't think the "productive atmosphere" concept is fully realized yet. Imagine how happy starbucks would be if they could reclaim all of that bar area for more seating (and more customers ordering more drinks!) or less area and less rent.

Ah, you got me! Yes, it's the overall atmosphere, not just the productivity. The romance is admittedly a part of it. I'm not opposed to robots making coffee, but I also suspect that in a post-work world, I'd be a part-time barista for the social-cool factor and mechanical-aromatic satisfaction.

(I can't help but think that half the attraction of Starbucks is having chipper college students hand-write a personalized drink order...)

I think there will probably be a lot of niche, human staffed places. I worry though, that as robots close the gap, our collective baseline for cost will drop so low that $3 for good espresso will seem outrageous when the robot will churn it out for a $1, perfect every time.

Also, the chipperness is a lot less likable when you're friends with some of them and all they can talk about is how much they hate customers :( The unspoken secret of retail is that it's soul crushing to work in.

Well, at Starbucks they appear to literally press a single button to pull a shot. So, not much art to that.

Those machines cost $10-$30k, and require cleaning every few hours (minimum wage, only significant skill is the diligence to do it) and maintenance every few days or weeks by a steam plumber. The operator/button pusher is a little bit like a flight attendant: most days here to get you your drinks—but every once in a while, here to notice steam coming from the wrong place and take the machine out of service.