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.
Issue link: http://automaticmerchandiser.epubxp.com/i/515259
lights, access through multiple pay- ment systems, screens that inform and promote and mobile connections that connect personally," said Vic Pember- ton, Pepi Companies CEO. Although cashless technology has been around the vending machine for years, the adoption rate within the last 12 to 24 months has accelerated at an unprecedented rate. "Operators want to accommodate how their cus - tomers interact with the machines, pay for their merchandise and view the vending industry as a whole. Screens, credit card readers and cash- less devices play a big role in getting this accomplished," said Stephanie Begley, director of marketing at Ven- dors Exchange International, Inc. Cashless not only gives operators the ability to sell higher ticket items and in return, drive a higher margin, but it also alleviates some price sensitiv- ity the consumer might have. So what's driving this cashless trend? Consumers. "Retail drives consumer preferences to pay at the vending machine," said Jim Chico, vice president of global sales & mar- keting at U-Select-It. "Trends are wrapped up in technology, in digital. The machines today are more versa- tile than they were ten years ago and not only is cashless growing, but so is the demand for loyalty promotions at the machine." Consumers will also drive mobile payment acceptance at the machine. "It's imperative that you offer the mobile option to your customers," said Maeve McKenna Duska, vice president of marketing at USA Tech- nologies. "This growth curve that is mobile will continue to increase over the next few years. Anyone who has made the investment into cashless will beneft." Angela Olson, marketing manager at Seaga Manufacturing, Inc. notes that her operators are showing more interest in new types of payment such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, "As long as they provide a beneft to them, either in greater sales or easier opera- tion," she said. Although cashless and mobile are growing payment options in the industry, Chuck Reed, senior direc- tor of sales & marketing operations at Crane Payment Innovations, cau- tions operators not to abandon cash. "A recent Boston Federal Reserve study confrmed that across all con- sumer age demographics, 65 percent of consumers still use cash as the preferred method for purchases under $10 in value," Reed said. "Vending shouldn't limit payment to cash or cashless, but instead cash AND cashless." The connected machine Cashless acceptance requires a machine to be connected, something that is picking up speed in transform- ing the machine. "Once connected, a vending machine is much more than an isolated 'retail outlet,'" said Reed. Business in a box Machine manufacturers are practicing what they preach; diversifying offerings to become multi-solution businesses. This includes offering fexibility in and around the machine. "New entrants to the automatic retailing market are driving the need for increased fexibility, as they look to offer products outside of the traditional vending product range," said Angela Olson of Seaga Manufacturing, Inc. "Today's machines are better positioned to be 24/7 retail units rather than just a black box sell- ing crave-busting snacks. As our operators want to meet their customer demands for the latest trends, manufacturers have to design fexible systems to address all the variables. Flexibility is ever more important, as equipment provides retail solutions for different products, with different sizes and increasing the need for better on-board technology." AVT, Inc. has seen a niche in retail vending, particularly of non-traditional vending items. "I thought vending was stagnant and needed to be livened up. It needed to become a destination," said Shannon Illingworth, founder of AVT. Illingworth started building machines with PC technology around the idea of the "vend-osk", the vending machine that meshed with the kiosk. Illingworth's focus has been to partner with brands, to put a busi- ness in a box. "We have a lot of people who came here with great ideas and concepts and have grown their business from automated retail," he said. "What we see in the automated retail side is that more people are getting involved because there are no limits to what you can dispense, from cupcakes to electronics. It has vertically integrated into the right locations. The big brands who used to look down at automated retail are now seeing it as a viable and affordable option." '' Trends are wrapped up in technology, in digital. '' Jim Chico, vice president of global sales and marketing at U-Select-It. 22 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com May 2015 E Q U I P M E N T