The Failure of a Unique Experiment: How Soviet Shortages Stopped Progress
The Soviet automated store Progress, which opened at 3 Chekhov Street in Moscow in 1962, was decades ahead of its time. An ambitious experiment to show how technology could make life easier for Soviet citizens, it was something akin to the then-outlandish American Amazon.
The main idea was to minimize the involvement of sellers in the purchasing process. The store was a network of machines where customers could buy food products by throwing coins of 1 to 50 kopecks into them. After payment through a special panel, the product was given out in a tray. This approach was convenient and modern for that time, especially in the context of the popularization of automation.
However, behind the apparent technological progress there were hidden serious problems, the main one of which was the notorious Soviet deficit.
Thus, despite the attractive format, the shelves of the machines were often empty. In conditions when the assortment was limited, the automated store lost its functionality and attractiveness.
But the main "snag" was the "live salesperson effect". During the Soviet shortages, this store employee was one of the people everyone wanted to get to know. After all, having enough money, it was not always possible to buy the necessary goods. But if you had a familiar salesperson, you could bypass the queue and get a scarce product from under the counter.
Naturally, this “maneuver” was impossible in automated stores, which reduced their popularity among the population.
Another “stumbling block” for the know-how was the lack of parts for the machines (again, a shortage) and the difficulty of repairing these devices.
All these factors had a negative impact on the revolutionary experiment, and ultimately it failed in the USSR.
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