Top 5 Vending Machine Trends Every Retailer Should Know About

It was in the early 1880s when the first retail coin-operated modernised vending machine was set up to dispense postcards. This efficient mode of retail gradually made it into the 21st century while undergoing countless changes and through multiple vending machine trends.

The findings from PepsiCo Foodservice’s consumer study on unattended retail show that consumer spending rose from 20% to 40% with unattended vending machines highlighting how post-pandemic, consumers are preferring unattended retail, digital transactions and hassle-free shopping experience. Hence, it is only right to say that the market size of vending machines and their acceptability will only expand in the coming years. And with this expansion will come countless upgrades, some of which are already shaping the upcoming trends for vending machine businesses. Let’s take a look at them in detail.

Top vending machine trends you must not miss

The thriving vending industry will experience a positive push for the following vending machine trends:

• Cashless payments
• Sustainability in vending
• Interactive and immersive experience
• Multi-function operations
• More product variation

These are described in detail below.

Cashless Payment: Providing convenience and security 

Right off the bat, the biggest shift in vending machine trends is the increase in the usage of digital payment gateways. With 48 billion digital payment tractions in the previous years, India topped the list with the most real-time transactions. This, in 2021 resulted in a cost saving of $12.6 billion for businesses.

The growing number of cashless and smart vending machines has led to increased consumer satisfaction with improved hygiene, and seamless, quicker, efficient and more secure transactions.

Additionally, this vending machine trend will efficiently ease the refund process for businesses and consumers likewise. Ensuring that cashless and automatic vending machines stay in the retail industry for the long run.

Support Sustainability: Making automatic vending eco-friendly

The next vital vending machine trend is the rise of eco-friendly and more sustainable ways to vend. The solution to it comes with the best vending machine software and hardware technologies that can provide sustainable solutions in the future.

Under this, the rise of upcycling old vending machines with smarter vending machine software will gain great attention. Vendekin’s RetroBox is one such sustainable solution. This plug-and-play device can be installed and ready to use in under 2 minutes.

It converts a regular vending machine into an automated vending machine by enabling touchless and easy mobile payments. Furthermore, it allows the consumer to purchase multiple products in one transaction, meaning they do not have to pay individually for each item.

Additionally, businesses would focus on advanced vending machine software that provides a deeper analytical insight into restocking and product status. Sensors that aid perfect temperature for products are in for a win among all vending machine trends as they reduce the risk of product spoilage.

Interactive and Immersive: Personalised experience with smart vending machines

“Consumers prefer unattended retail more than ever because they want to shop at their own pace. Consumers want control over their transactions, something that unattended retail gives them without the hassle of feeling pressured by an outside party”, shared Greg Herman from PepsiCo Foodservice in an interview.

Their experiment showcased how consumers now demand unattended and cashless retail experiences where they can physically feel the product and enjoy instant gratification with the least interactions.

This vending machine trend has already begun to shape consumer behaviour with vending machine software driven by algorithms that curate more personalised experiences.

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Buying vs Renting a Vending Machine – Which Option is Better?

To buy vending machines or rent that is the question!

It is no news that with cashless and automatic vending machines your business can thrive in the US$ 55 Billion vending machine industry. With a mobile inventory, backend data that evolves with your consumer, product-specific customisation and brand labelling, smart vending solutions can give your retail business a positive push.

But, many businesses keep circling around when it comes to the price of vending machines and are in a dilemma of whether to buy or rent a vending machine.

Unravel this conundrum with us.

Buy vs Rent a Vending Machine: A road not taken

A smart vending machine will turn out to be an efficient and future-proof business investment in India. And with the growth of the phygital environment, micro-marketing is becoming a need for every retail business. The consumer expects a contactless, immersive and quicker retail experience, which is effortlessly provided by smart vending machine solutions.

As a business, now is the time to evaluate the pros and cons of renting a vending machine vs buying one.

Buy a vending machine

As mentioned, investing in smart and cashless vending machine solutions will help you establish your business strongly in the upcoming phygital spaces. With over 750 million smartphone users alone in India, owning a cashless vending machine will only enhance the benefits you reap.

Find out all the pros and cons of buying a vending machine:

Pros of buying a vending machine

1. Low investments and ownership of profit:

Most businesses demand high investments, but you can buy a vending machine equipped with the best vending machine software for an average amount of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakhs, depending upon its size, private labelling and product-specific customisation.

Buying a vending machine comes with all ownership of the machine and all the profits. Without the periodic deduction of rent, you can further use the earned margin for more efficient business development activities.

With Vendekin’s cashless and smart vending solutions, you start earning profit anywhere between 18 to 36 months. This depends on the product, business strategy, location, the discount provided, etc.

2. More flexibility

Another benefit of buying an automatic vending machine comes as flexibility in product selection, inventory stocking and even pricing. When you rent a vending machine, your choices are limited by what is available with your nearest dealers. This limits the choice of the products you can vend, as different product categories might require different customisations to a vending machine.

Additionally, when it comes to restocking, you need not depend on individual service providers or other supply chains that may turn out to be unreliable in the long run.

3. Better quality of service

Providing cashless and quicker transactions to your consumer is one among multiple reasons your business requires an automatic vending machine. And when you buy vending machines there is a higher chance that you would invest in a brand-new machine with the best vending machine software. In relation to this, the performance and service provided will be way better than a previously used rented machine.

Cons of buying a vending machine

With the whole and sole ownership of vending machines comes the responsibility for their timely maintenance, repair, cleaning and restocking.

With Vendekin’s smart and cashless vending machine, you get free vending machine repairs and fixes for the first year as a part of our warranty.

Rent a vending machine

For many local businesses, the up-front cost of buying a vending machine is the biggest concern before venturing into the vending business. Hence they prefer to rent vending machines instead of buying them. Explore the advantages of renting an automatic vending machine below:

Pros of renting a vending machine

1. Lower Up-Front Cost

The most significant advantage of obtaining a vending machine on rent is that you would have made a minimal investment. The average rental cost starts from around ₹5,000 per month and can go up to ₹15,000. This effectively eliminates the intensity of expenses by cutting the sum cost over smaller periods of time.

This will however depend on the location, product type and size of the automatic vending machine along with the quality of vending machine software it is equipped with. In simple maths, you would have paid over 3-5 lakh in around three years depending on what is available to your nearest vending machine operator.

2. No expense over restocking or maintenance

It is natural that when you rent a smart vending machine the responsibility of restocking, regular maintenance, care and proper functioning of the machine is on the vending machine operators. When you rent a vending machine, these expenses are generally covered by the service provider as mentioned in the rental agreement over a monthly service charge. In most cases, the vendors will offer to stock the vending machine themselves depending on the product type.

You save a significant sum by reducing the cost of maintenance and cleaning when you rent vending machines over a period of time.

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