1. A vending system comprising at least one vending machine, retail display, or automated retail store, the vending system comprising: a display module containing items to be vended, the display module physically comprising a plurality of physical displays in which items to be vended are visibly housed; a computer for activating and controlling the vending system and said module, and receiving and processing customer messages from one or more mobile devices; software for controlling said computer; and a visual display controlled by said software for establishing a virtual screen for inputting customer data and selections.