The software involved in vending is evolving faster than you would expect.
So what is the deal with vending software anyway? You embed the code into the machine and, as long as it does what it is supposed to, then that is all that needs to happen, right? Not so fast. Before we know where the industry is going, we have to take a look at where it has been and how it is evolving.
The transition has been slow but steady. The first vending machines were introduced in Great Britain in the 1800’s and they dispensed postcards. Not verified, but it is widely thought that the first patent for an automated vending device was file around 1857 in London. These tools of convenience made their way to the United States somewhere around 1888 where they were set up to sell gum in New York train stations.
From their mechanical genesis, use and complexity continued to mature over time. The pace of evolution was fairly slow as the product list remained relatively narrow and people in the United States continued to favor stores except in the case of snacks, drinks and gum, for a long period of time. Finally, in the late 1900’s, use grew to include light meals and more substantial snacks, but adoption of the vending machine as a mainstream dispensation unit continued to lag behind the product curve.
Still, as a tool for convenience, these bastions of impulse purchasing could not be beat and vending machines continue the slow, plodding adoption rate as a method for dispensing products. That is, until the last ten years or so.
For us here in the US, we are behind the curve when it comes to automated vending. In other parts of the world, these markets have grown far more quickly due to population, demand and product constraints.
While we have not been as dependent on the isolated delivery of products via kiosks, modern technology has made it far easier for a vending operator to deliver various types of products via automated means. Where we have opted for attended delivery of products in the past (by humans), the cost of brick and mortar locations couple with the surging price of labor makes it increasingly attractive to sell items via kiosk when possible.
What was the driving force for this shift in technology? Not really anything to do with the mechanics of each different type of unit since they remain, for the most part, the same. Money or plastic goes in, the consumer makes the selection, and product comes out. What has changed is the software driving the unit. Intelligent Vending or Smart Vending machines came out somewhere around the early 2010’s.
Termed Interactive Retail Vending with the phrase coined by manufacturer The Venders and marketing firm Proshark, these units take vending to an entirely different level. Interactive Retail Vending (IRV) adds the missing piece to drive consumer interaction, the ability to advertise either the product in the machine, advertise a third-party product, or deliver an entirely unrelated video or sales process while vending a product. Each of these machines, known as Interactive Retail Vending Kiosks (IRV-K) are capable of operating as standalone units or in tandem with customization according to Bob Bienias, Founder in Chief at The Venders.
It is a new day in the world of Interactive Retail Vending and it will be interesting to see where the industry takes us. Already we are seeing a wide expansion of on-demand products and delivery points. We feel that, even though it is just now becoming visible on the surface, the vending industry is poised for a boom. A mass of owners is ready to cut ties with traditional employment to create passive income and have the freedom of owning their own schedule. Couple this with a more “unattended” sales market where people have become increasingly used to transacting without personal interface, and you have a recipe for success.
