Abstract: An arrangement for providing any customer present at a vending location at which a group of products is offered for sale with information about any member of such group includes an audiovisual device and a customer-initiated request entry device both situated at the vending location. Data representative of audiovisual information segments pertaining to the individual products of the group are stored in separate portions of a data storage medium and are retrieved from there and used to drive the audiovisual device to present the segment that corresponds to the request. When the products have optically distinguishable markings that uniquely identify them by product type associated therewith, the entering means may include an optical scanner arranged in such a manner as to enable any customer to bring a chosen marking and the optical scanner in relative positions in which the optical scanner scans the chosen marking and generates the addressing signal.

Abstract: A display cabinet for storing and displaying merchandise for sale to consumers is provided with one or more doors, each door being locked by a locking mechanism that can be released by a signal from a remotely located, hand-held RF transmitter operated by a store clerk or cashier. Visual and audible alarms are provided for alerting store personnel to forcible entry into the cabinet and for warning store personnel when the cabinet doors have been open for a time period in excess of a predetermined time period.