Automatic Merchandiser

OCT 2013

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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THE ANATOMY OF THE MICRO MARKET Understanding the parts of a kiosk By Emily Refermat, Editor A Some features come standard in all micro markets, while others are unique to each supplier. Here's what operators need to know about kiosks. ll micro markets, big or small, white collar or blue, new or old, have one thing in common — a kiosk. It's the heart of the "store," at the very core of what makes a micro market a micro market. With these units there are features that offer unique benefts not available on the typical vending machine. The touchscreen provides a "wow" factor for the consumer, and the automatic hard sales data wins over the operator. To date, there are at least eight suppliers of micro markets, all with different kiosks that offer different non-standard features. In the side-by-side comparison on page 24, you'll see most of these kiosk features laid out in an easy-to-compare matrix that will allow you to make an informed decision. While you'll see many unique and useful features for each kiosk supplier, there are also many that come standard in every market system. What all kiosks have All micro market kiosks sold in the vending channel are small, with under a 24-inch footprint. They are powered by plugging into a common wall outlet and connected to the internet. There is also a touchscreen on the kiosk, a barcode scanner for products and payment acceptance of both cash and credit/debit cards for loading prepaid market cards — traditionally used for payment. There is also a digital video recorder (DVR) installed in the kiosk to record surveillance footage. Touchscreens See the bigger micro market picture by learning about available features. 20 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com October 2013 The customer uses the touchscreen to interact with the micro market in very similar ways, regardless of the manufacturer. All the screens display point-of-sale information, such as identifying the item the customer scanned, giving the option to buy nonscanable items (ex: fruit or K-Cups), bundling the items together for a single purchase transaction, tabulating sales tax and displaying product marketing or promotional messages. Some markets

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