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