Cheetos, M&Ms, pretzels iPods? Forget the dusty, poorly lit vending machines selling stale peanuts and Rice Krispies squares pumped up with preservatives. The vending machine is going glam. Consumers are using their plastic instead of their spare change to snap up luxury items such as digital cameras, cologne, and even software from automated machines in airports, malls, supermarkets, and other high-traffic areas.

ATMs, flight check-in kiosks, and subway ticket machines have made consumers much more comfortable with using their credits cards at self-serve machines. And, of course, the growth of online retail has resulted in many people shelling out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars without first touching their purchases or dealing with a live salesperson.

Some shoppers even prefer no-touch to high-touch customer service, which is often a euphemism for pushy sales clerks. “When I go to buy perfume at a department store, I come out of there smelling like everything under the sun,” says Madeline Wallace of Long Island City, N.Y. Instead, she prefers the new Coty vending machine that sells Jennifer Lopez and David Beckham fragrances in New York’s Queens Center .

Automated shopping takes no-touch service to the next level. “The appeal is similar to an online purchase but with immediate gratification,” says Gower Smith, CEO of ZoomSystems, which created the software and machines to sell Apple iPods in airports and Macy’s stores. Macy’s had such a strong response from flush female shoppers since the company started testing the concept in 2005 that it’s now rolling out automated machines in 400 stores.

This past fall, Elizabeth Arden, Coty, and Rosetta Stone, a language-learning software maker, signed on with ZoomSystems as well. The machines let these companies hawk their wares in places where they wouldn’t set up standalone stores or where existing stores have been shuttered.

A Self-Service Upgrade

Self-serve machines cut labor…