For decades, vending technology seemingly changed little from an ancient Egyptian device that dispensed holy water at the drop of coin. Until recently, many modern-day machines still followed the same principle: Deposit your money and a mechanism releases your candy bar, soda, or bag of chips.
Now, however, consumers are beginning to experience a flurry of innovations that are transforming the face of vending technology, not only in the machines themselves, but in the new kinds of products that are dispensed automatically. Vending operators are already unveiling such new concepts as:
A pizza-making kiosk mixes dough and cooks your pie to order in just three minutes.
Coca-Cola's Freestyle soda fountains dispense more than 120 flavors.
Airport kiosks where you can buy smartphones, earphones, or DVDs on the fly.
Pharmaceutical vending machines where patients can get prescriptions filled 24/7.
Literary vending machines can choose from 3 million titles and produce a paperback version in five minutes.
"Micro-markets" where consumers can select convenience-store products bearing barcodes or RFID tags, checking them out at automated kiosks.
Click on the image below to get a close-up look at these innovative new interfaces.
Mobile computing will expand payment options in vending machines. A Starbucks app already lets customers buy products by scanning a barcode displayed on their smartphones.
And that's just a small sampling. With a growing array of cashless payment options and cloud-based telemetry systems that transfer data on machine operations and customer buying habits to vending operators and marketers, vending technology is set to undergo transformations that were unimaginable even decades ago.
Building blocks of change
This revolution in vending results from the convergence of a long list of dynamically changing technologies over the last 10 to 15 years, starting with the integration of electronics and an increase in computing power. Once a purely mechanical technology, vending machines have become showcases for the latest advances in microcircuits, processors, wireless communications, data storage and transfer, and human interfaces.
Of these technologies, telematics is a particularly fascinating segment. Both through wired communications and wireless media like Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular, vending operators can closely monitor machine operations and product consumption, which allows them to prevent machine malfunctions, reduce costly repairs, and fine-tune resupply visits.
In addition, with the emergence of large datacenters, vending operators and company marketers can gather and store vast amounts of data in the cloud on how customers use vending machines. For example, Coke could track regional preferences in soft drink flavors purchased in its 120-flavor Freestyle machines and then use that data in strategies to market targeted products in that area.
Taking this enhanced connectedness a step further, a person's Facebook friends could be notified when he or she makes a significant vending purchase, which in turn can influence buying trends.
Along with telematics, we are seeing major advances in user interfaces, which are becoming more intuitive. Many incorporate user-friendly navigation designs similar to that of tablet computers, which children in the US learn to use by the age of three. Such interfaces also allow for a great deal more customization in products, as in Coke's Freestyle machines.
Mobile computing will also change the way consumers will interact with vending machines. It's already happening at the retail level, where Starbucks customers with prepaid accounts now have an iPhone app that lets them buy products by scanning a barcode displayed on their smartphones. Starbucks publically reports that customers using this mobile app tend to spend more, with a much faster transaction time than cash or credit. There's no reason why that wireless method couldn't be applied to vending machine purchases.
I'm interested to see how the NFC (Near Field Communication) application will work and how broadly it will be accepted by the marketplace. I'm curious to see how the advantages of this type of technology will play out in the vending machine and kiosk world and how sought-after it will be.
The ones that do have the credit option is at least a step into the 1980s. I want to see it become a universal addition. Though, I do not shop vending machines often.
Cabe, Looking at some of those pics, it seems that some of them do have credit card slots. I would think that would almost be a requirement for drugs and Best Buy products. I can guess that the vendors just don't want the added expense for $1.40 soda...or they don't want to raise the price even more to cover it.
As an ancient history buff, I really enjoyed finding out that vending machines are as old as the Egyptians. If someone comes up with one that dispenses very fresh, perfectly cooked filet mignon, or excellent Chinese food, I'll be there. But the food quality and freshness of what's out there now is just too poor.
On the topic of food safety and sanitation, this new generation of automated kiosks pushes beyond delivering dated, prepackaged foods into preparation and processing. The end products are made fresh to order, and the automated equipment, storage, and handling are certified to NSF sanitation and food safety standards. One step further, smart controllers and machine-to-cloud telematics are keeping track of the freshness of ingredients and the parameters of the process. For example, machines can automatically halt sales of products that require fresh milk when it expires or if the storage temperature drops below safety thresholds. They can notify technicians of the need for service as well as cleaning and restocking requirements.
I think we are all excited about the progress in payment systems that is unfolding right now. Technologies like Square have allowed independent service providers to take credit cards from any smartphone. And, the next generation of vending equipment has little need for cash or coins; instead focused on credit cards, contactless payments, NFC, and loyalty programs.
I too would vend a fresh salad versus peering beneath the sneeze guard to pick it up from the aging bar.
From experience, it seems vending machines have come a long way in the last few years. The engineering technology to provide these machines is truly fascinating. I can remember times when I would deposit money push the designated buttons, wait for the item to drop--wait for the item to drop-wait for the item to drop then bang, bang, shake, tilt. You get the picture. The technology has definitely improved over the past few years and includes a much greater variety of products. I think this trend will continue although I definitely agree I'm a little nervous about food items that need to be processed. I would also venture a guess that the FED will get in the picture, if they have not already, when the level of sophistication continues to improve. All it will take is one death resulting from a "bad vend".
While this seems to be an obvious progression - I personally would have a hard time trusting food items such as the pizza maker. Even with prepackaged foods I have seen stale out-of-date product come out of a vending machine. Restaurants clean their food processing machines daily - how would that happen with a vending machine? And I have real concerns with the pharmaceutical model as well. How do you prevent fraudulent use or someone even just breaking into the machine to obtain the drugs inside? I would also like to know my recourse if I buy a defective product from the Best Buy kiosk.
When these things work well - they are great. But when they fail to work as designed...it is the consumer that loses with a lot of time and aggravation to get their money back or just deciding its not worth it and taking the hit...
I don't care about any of the crazy ideas, 120 flavors, etc. How about all vending machines accept credit cards, at least! I rarely carry cash anymore. I would prefer to use NFC or credit everywhere.
Vending machines never take the money I put in anyway. I couldn't even do laundry once for that reason. I valeted recently... It was a nightmare to pay for it with a credit card.
It's 2013 already. The smartphone, app, era. Time to advance.
I used vending machines multiple times a day when I was overseas; water was the number one buy. I would try the pizza in a pinch but it would be hard to get me to eat that as more than a novelty.
When do the salad machines come on line? Fresh (as is still on the vine tomatoes) picked, sliced, and tossed with the fresh greens while your coin is still rattling in the box... Now that's what I'm talking about.
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