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ting used equipment. Many operators ask 'Will I see a return on investment? If so, how quickly?' Not only are opera- tors concerned with investments, they are also concerned with invest- ing in a technology that might just become a "fad" and dissipate with time. "Technology for technology's sake isn't going to cut it. It has to make them a return on investment," said Glomski. "So what we focused on was really that same store sales growth because that is the funda- mental issue our entire industry faces. We have to drive new consum- ers to vending." Tom Murn, CEO at The Answer Group in New York, NY, believes that it takes a little money to get a lot back. For Murn, investing in technology, especially consumer media interac- tion at the machine, has helped him see a quick return on investment. "All equipment manufacturers are doing great things, in their own way," he said. "There are many options, all at a price point for any size opera- tion. It's important for operators to remember that selling the higher ticket items and spending more up front will get you more in return." One solution that has worked for Pepi has been retroftting old machines. "We are taking the basic vending machine and turning it into a retail store, and I'm seeing a return on investment quickly," said Pem- berton. "The prices for retroftting equipment haven't risen signifcantly and the cost to create a retail type experience is worth the additional investment." Pemberton notes that Pepi will not stop purchasing new machines; it just comes down to the right location. "New machines have a place, and we'll continue to buy them where it makes sense and where we can get a return," he said. Future-proofng machines There is no such thing as "future- proofng" a machine. It is possible, however, to monitor consumer trends and see changes in their retail shopping experience. Machines of today, and those that will meet the needs of the future, allow for digi- tal advertising and multiple types of payments. They draw the consumer in with bright lights, customiza- tion and the ability to vend non- traditional items. They also engage the consumer in a total interactive experience that looks far different from the vending experience of ten years ago. "Semi-attended or unattended engagement at self-checkout lanes, airline check-in kiosks, train ticket kiosks, etc. are now so common place they are preferred by cus- tomers," said Reed. "Providing that same interactive experience at a vending machine with touchscreens and connectivity is fast becoming the new normal." What does the future look like? This is how industry veterans sum up the trends driving unattended retail. Stephanie Begley, Vendors Exchange International, Inc: The number of connected devices will grow and operators will then be able to better un- derstand real-time information about machines that will lead to increased effciency and proftability. Jim Chico, U-Select-It: Consumers, especially Millennials, will continue to drive the retail experience and we will see vending equipment mirror that. I also think that energy-effciency will continue to be important to the ma- chine. But the number one trend I see is improved style and dispensing at the machine. Traditional vending will always be around, it just might look different. Tom Glomski, Crane Merchandising Systems: In the near-term, I think you're going to continue to see growth in cashless deployments and digital product advertising — two proven applications for improving same store sales. Frank Guzzone, Mondelez International : Our whole business model for diji-touch ® is a twenty frst century machine for the times we live in, not for the past. It can be current now and with enough technology it will stay current at least 5 years in the future. I envision a machine that will expand with different formats including large screen, small screen and combo. I also see the ability to become a sampling machine, to be in different venues from retail to supermarkets. Instead of getting a hand- to-hand product, you could get a sample from a machine, a recipe and instant coupons. Shannon Illingworth, AVT: Creating destinations is the future. In the future I also see more companies realizing that their business has to be 24/7. Brendan Kehoe, Streamware: The trend is getting real-time data at an increasingly granular level to operate more effciently and effectively; however, I think it's hard to see beyond the next two years. As the rate of change in technology and consumer trends increases, our ability to predict it decreases. It will evolve over time as technology advances, and we learn how to use it to continually grow our businesses. Angela Olson, Seaga: These new retailing solutions offer operators new opportunities and threats. They are opening up the opportunity for vending to become a much more proftable retailing solution but this will require learning new skills and competing against new entrants to this market. 24 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com May 2015 E Q U I P M E N T