Automated store

An automated retail vending store for serving customers, the automated retail vending store comprising:

• an enclosure having at least one transparent panel and a receptacle, wherein the enclosure configured to restrict access to an interior of the enclosure by the customers, wherein the receptacle configured to permit removal of items by the customers from the interior of the enclosure, and wherein each different type of item within the interior of the enclosure is visible to the customers from the exterior of the enclosure through the at least one transparent panel;
• a shelving structure within the enclosure, wherein the shelving structure having a shelf configured to store and display, through the at least one transparent panel, items available for sale to the customers;
• a robotic apparatus moveable within the enclosure and free to move in relation to the shelving structure, wherein the robotic apparatus configured to:
• retrieve an item from the shelf, the item being retrieved in response to a received input from a customer that specifies a selected item,
• verify the retrieved item corresponds to the selected item, and
• deliver the selected item to the receptacle for subsequent removal by the customer;
• and
• an inventory management system configured to:
• monitor a current inventory of the items,
• update a current inventory of the selected item in response to the robotic apparatus delivering the selected item to the receptacle, and
• query a remote inventory management system to determine an amount of the selected item located at a remote location that is different from a location of the automated retail vending store.