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THE WAY I SE E I T
W Interactive media can renew
vending, will add new blood By Elliot Maras, Editor
hen I attended my fi rst kiosk/digital signage expo in 2008, there were
no snack or beverage vending machines on the show fl oor, and as far as I could tell, no vending operators in attendance. Last month, at the ninth annual Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas, I saw several snack and beverage machines with interactive media touchscreens and other capabilities. There weren't a lot of vend-
ing operators in attendance, but there were some, which speaks to the reality of a changing industry. They came not just to see the interactive vending dis- plays, which alone was worth the trip, but all the interactive merchandising, wayfi nding, facial recognition and messag- ing tools on the show fl oor.
mobile Internet, is blurring the barriers between these different "vertical" segments. The technology providers,
unlike vending and the other "verticals" currently investigat- ing digital signage and interac- tive media, stand at ground zero before a rapidly expand- ing industry. They carry no assumptions about the future as they seek to redefi ne retail commerce and many other ven- ues of human interaction. Hundreds (if not thousands)
saw the vending systems on display, such as the VE Connect content management platform with universal control board applications, near-fi eld communi- cation payment applications, the Intel® audience impression met- rics suite and product recognition that support the vending opera-
The VE Connect interactive media screen is among the new innovations that redefines the vending experience.
mous facial recognition that determines gender and age. Among those who envi-
sioned new possibilities, how many were grabbed by the entrepreneurial itch to redefi ne vending? In this age of mobile broadband and Internet con- nectivity, we'll be fi nding out sooner than later. People from numerous busi- ness disciplines soaked up the possibilities as they walked the show fl oor. Many were anxious to learn more about vending after seeing what these interac- tive tools can do for it. Those of us with a working
Technology blurs barriers The show targeted a wide variety of user groups, known in the dig- ital signage trade as "verticals." People from ad agencies to retail- ers to government to business and industry attended. Digital signage, powered by broadband
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tor's need to control and monitor transactions and interactions. Hundreds (if not thousands)
saw the Kraft Foods' food sam- pling machine and the Sanden- Vendo glassfront cold beverage machine with a 65-inch trans- parent touchscreen and anony-
Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2012
knowledge of vending fi elded questions about the industry as it now exists. We ultimately had to explain the structural barriers that presently restrict operators from investing in future tools. Issues such as space limitations in machines. Reliance on the dollar bill that limits selections to small ticket items. Not to mention the numerous busi- ness practices that commoditize vending's value to the end user. But we had to admit that all these issues can and will end up in the ash heap of history. Answers to many of the vend- ing industry's challenges could be found on that trade show fl oor. All it takes is new blood, or a revolution in the existing vending operator mindset.
Please send your comments regarding this or any article in Automatic Merchandiser to Elliot.Maras@VendingMarketWatch.com
AUTOMATIC MERCHANDISER EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Scott Guardino Paramount Automated Food Service
Pompano Beach, Fla.
Randy Parks ProStar Services West Carrollton, Texas
Paul Shlossberg DFW Consulting Goshen, N.Y.
Mike Nugent Compass Group USA Middletown, Pa.
Brad Ellis
Crane Merchandising Systems
St. Louis, Mo. Tom Siciliano
Integrity Recruiting & Consulting Inc. Huntley, Ill.
Tom Britten
Britten Management Services
Zephyrhills, Fla. Brad Bachtelle
Bachtelle & Associates Inc. Tustin, Calif.
Glenn Butler CTO Services LLC Boston, Mass.
Gene Ostendorf InOne Technology Hunt Valley, Md.
Paul Schindelar Kraft Vending & OCS Hanover, N.J.
Chuck Reed MEI West Chester, Pa.
Anant Agrawal Cantaloupe Systems San Francisco, Calif.
