The new generation

of Vending Machines

Last year, vending machines in the UK sold products worth £4.3 billion – a rise of 2.8% on the previous year. While most purchases were small cash items, like drinks and snack food, there were also the first signs of a new trend: a move to use vending machines to sell consumer goods worth hundreds of pounds.

One mobile phone company, for example, piloted machines selling handsets in its stores. Each sold between 30 and 40 phones a day with purchase prices of between £40–180. Retailers in the US have had similarly encouraging results with customers being willing to spend up to $400 on goods.

Clearly then, something interesting is happening. Stuart Farrell, Development Manager at Fujitsu, explains the background: “What’s going on here is that a number of factors – technology, consumer culture and purchasing patterns – have come together to open up a whole range of retailing opportunities. Most people are comfortable with self-service machines for items like train and cinema tickets, they’ve shopped online and overcome their worries about security and they’re living in a 24-7 culture where they demand immediate gratification. Choice and convenience trump all other concerns.”