The vending machine business has garnered solid success in 2018, due in part to an increase in mobile commerce and the rising consumer focus on cashless payments. But new technology leads the way for even more vending growth in 2019. With innovative advancements such as voice and facial recognition— key attributes to evolving vending systems. The new systems will offer fun and interactive experiences that will allow brands and operators to use cloud and data analytics to reduce operational costs and boost efficiency. Putting more vending machines in high-traffic areas will also add to vending growth in the coming years.
How big is the opportunity? The global vending machine market is expected to grow by $12.5 billion from 2019-2023. The year-over-year growth rate for 2019 is expected to be 9.5 percent. Of that, 40 percent of the annual growth will come from the Americas, where only a few players occupy market share. IVM leads the way in intelligent supply vending, as Smart Stations® and lockers continue to save money for enterprises, make inventory control easier and utilize cloud-based reporting and analytics for up-to-the minute insights. Unlike vending machines that distribute drinks and snacks, intelligent vending machines come pre-loaded with inventory management tools and internet-enabled data collection software that allow you to collect, analyze and share important reports. For those reasons and more, intelligent vending growth is predicted to surge in the coming years.
As the leader in intelligent vending IVM is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growth of the vending category, as more and more businesses are seeing huge productivity boosts since implementing a Smart Station or locker. Taking office supplies from a locked cabinet and putting them on the floor where employees can easily access, instantly gives everyone what they need to stay productive. IVM has been offering cloud-based solutions with vending for over a decade, while everyone else is now playing catch up.
As for the rest of the vending world…
According to a research analyst at Technavio, “Major vendors are increasingly using vending machines to enhance customer satisfaction during the shopping process as the machines ensure full control over purchases and require no intervention of sales people, support staff or other executives. Further, owing to the fast-changing digital landscape, vendors are constantly adopting innovative strategies to differentiate their brands and stay competitive. The increasing use of vending machines is one of the major strategies among vendors in recent times to enhance the customer experience and mitigate costs.
There you have it. The market opportunity for vending is like a wide-open highway, with IVM leading the way.
