Over $115 million is put into vending machines in the United States each year – that’s an impressive $79,000 per day. Driven partially by a strengthening economy and increased consumer spending, the vending industry is at a seven-year high, according to a report recently released by Vending Market Watch. Other driving forces for the vending industry’s rise in revenue can be directly attributed to technology such as remote monitoring and cashless payment acceptance.
Following its breakout year in 2015, the mobile payments industry has continued to see innovation and growth in 2016 and 2017. More than one million vending machines are now equipped with credit and debit card readers – approximately one-third of the nation’s 3.5 million vending machines currently on the market.
The number of vending machines in the United States that accept cashless payments is at an all-time high, and the most innovative of vending machines are pushing the envelope even beyond credit and debit cards to ensure their card readers also accept other forms of mobile payments. As millennials lead the way into the emerging workforce, it’s imperative for vending machines to accept even more advanced cashless payment options such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet and PayPal. Innovative companies like 1.800.Vending feature smartphone payment technology, which allows customers to pay for their purchases with a simple tap of their smartphone on platforms.
Many operators report that adding cashless vending options to their existing vending machines has been the most important change they’ve made in the past year. Cashless vending is at an all-time high but upgrading machines that don’t already accept credit, debit and other forms of cashless payments comes at a price. Raising the capital to upgrade vending machines that don’t already feature card readers is costly, so many operators are instead choosing smart card vending machines that come already equipped with cashless technology. 1.800.Vending is at the forefront of technology by ensuring that all machines are already equipped with these latest innovations.
With the ‘tap and go’ culture so prominently engrained in modern society, consumers expect the convenience of contactless payments – and it can even mean increased revenue from fewer lost sales. Continued advancements toward a truly cashless experience mean that various OEM Pay platforms will become even more mainstream in 2018.
Another area of vending machine technology that is quickly evolving is remote monitoring and telemetry. Vending Market Watch also reports that the number of vending machines connected to the Internet is growing, and this benefits vending businesses by creating more efficient operations. Nearly 70 percent of operators are using some form of technology, such as telemeters and mobile devices, to gather sales data from their vending machines. That data can then be used by remote monitoring systems to save time servicing vending machines, monitor machine sales, improve sales analysis, and maximize prekitting.
In today’s tech-driven society, it’s important to stay up to date with the latest technology advances. With companies like 1800Vending, you get reliable, superior technology that allows you to focus on what’s important: running and succeeding your vending business.
