6 Ways to Use Technology to Boost Your Vending Sales

Technology has always been an important part of any business, including the vending business. The right technology can make it easier to run and manage your business, keep your machine secure, and get more sales. Let’s take a look at the ways to use technology to boost your vending sales.

6 Ways to Use Technology to Boost Your Vending Sales

1. Take Advantage of Trends

When you have more awareness about how your business is doing, you can make adjustments accordingly. Monitoring sales and trends is a great way to use technology to boost your vending business. The right technology installed with your vending machine can show you how many vends you’ve had each month, what products are popular, when you need to restock, any machine downtime, and much more. A variety of different technologies can help you do this.

With information about your sales, inventory, and trends, you can plan more accurately. You’ll be able to see which products are selling best, and what times are busiest for your machine. If you have multiple machines, you’ll be able to compare them, which can tell you the best ways to expand your business.

Consider how you can improve your vending sales with the following:

• Capitalize on Trends: With sales monitoring technology equipped on your machine, you’ll be able to see which products are selling best and which ones aren’t capturing customers’ interest anymore. This way, you can change your inventory accordingly.
• Identify Peak Season: Just about every business has a peak season. Knowing when your sales are highest will not only help you adjust your spending habits, but it will also help you gauge when your machine might need more attention.
• Identify Best Locations: Some vending machines are bound to do better than others, and location plays a big part in this. Tracking your sales can show you where you might want to put a new machine, or where you might relocate an existing one.

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2. Save Time, Manage Remotely

The right technology can also make your business more flexible and easier to operate. With remote management, you can use technology to monitor and manage your vending machine or multiple machines. This can save you lots of time and energy. With remote management, you’ll be able to do all of the following and more:

• Perform maintenance as-needed: Instead of regularly visiting your machines to refill inventory and perform maintenance, you can visit your machines only when it’s needed.
• Manage from any location: Remote management allows you to monitor your machines and see your sales and inventory no matter where you are, even when you’re traveling or attending to other businesses.
• Delegate: If you’re managing several businesses at once, it’s helpful to delegate tasks to others. With remote management systems, you can see when or if your machines need attention, and you can delegate the task to the right person.

3. More Security, More Sales

Technology can also help to improve the security of your machines. If your machines have been vandalized or broken into, security cameras can help you identify the culprits and put a stop to the activity. By clearly showing that you have security cameras at your site, you can also help deter vandalism and theft before it happens.

The right technology can also tell you when something goes wrong with your machine related to weather events, accidents, or even just regular wear and tear. This way, incidents around your machine are never a surprise. You can also attend to these incidents on your own timeline, either to minimize downtime or to work around your schedule.

Security cameras and monitoring systems can have an impact on your sales as well. Consider the following:

• Safety: If a customer doesn’t feel safe visiting your machine, they won’t. Security cameras can help them feel safer.
• Cleanliness: Scattered trash or other debris will discourage your customers from visiting your machine. Monitoring the surroundings will ensure that the exterior is appealing to customers.
• Reducing downtime: Internal machine monitoring will tell you when your machine needs repairs, so you can fix them before the machine goes down and starts losing sales.

4. Touchless Payments

Increasingly, customers are paying with credit cards, systems like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, or making in-app purchases. The right technology opens your machine to these customers, and can help you boost your vending machine sales.

If you’re purchasing a new vending machine, it’s a good idea to look for one that accepts various types of payments. However, it’s also possible to upgrade your machine to accept credit cards or even Apple Pay and similar payment systems. To accept payments in a different app, your vending machine will need additional support.

Machines that accept the following payment types will appeal to a broader range of customers, and are likely to get more sales:

• Credit cards: Credit cards are a no-brainer for any business, including vending machines. If your machine only accepts cash, you’re missing out on sales.
• Apple Pay, Samsung Pay: These payment methods connect directly to customers’ smartphones, and allow them to make purchases without a credit card or cash.
• In-app Purchases: Vending machines that connect to independent apps allow customers to make purchases with just a few clicks. Usually, their credit card or other information is already saved in the app. This is great for encouraging loyal customers.

The ICE2U app allows in-app purchases, touchless payments, and lets customers accumulate rewards

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5. Discounts and Specials

Getting customers to notice your vending machine can be difficult. Sometimes, your machine might blend into the background, other machines might be overshadowing it, or it simply might not be getting the attention that it used to. Discounts and specials are one way to make your machine stand out, but you’ll need the right technology to do it.

• Discounts: As many as 80% of consumers say they will try a new product if they have a discount. Providing a discount and highlighting this on the machine can encourage new customers to visit.
• Free items: Similar to discounts, adding a chance of free items can grab your customers’ attention. You might offer this on a random basis, or even just tie items together to offer a buy-one-get-one free special.
• Rewards: Some apps or QR codes can allow customers to build up rewards when they visit your machine. You might offer free items as rewards, or even special prizes. This is a great way to grab the attention of customers who frequently pass by.
• Sweepstakes: Adding QR codes to your products can allow customers to put their names into sweepstakes or special prize drawings. Showcase this on your vending machine to make it stand out.

6. Social Media

Social media is another way you can make your machine stand out and get more vending sales. Encourage customers to share their purchases in a video or image on social media, and offer them free prizes or other rewards.

You might also showcase your machine yourself on a separate account. Use local hashtags, and join the conversations around local events to make sure your machine gets noticed. This can be a great way to show your machine to locals who might not know that it exists. If you’re a bit shy or reluctant to share on social media yourself, an independent account for your machines can also be a great way to maintain your own anonymity.

Technology is a great way to encourage more customers to visit your machine, save time, and, ultimately, get more vending sales. As you consider what technology to add to your existing machines, it can be helpful to balance the pros and cons, and perform an ROI analysis. If you’re looking to buy a new machine, make technology a priority, and make sure the machine will be able to grow with you into the future.