April 15th, 2020
By Jeff Adair, Editor

While COVID-19 will bring unseen changes to unattended retail such as vending,   Nayax  is confident that following the current crisis the use of unattended retail payment systems will help increase consumer traffic and grow a vending operator’s profits up to 30%.

One thing Nayax says we can all agree on is that there will be an increase in the use of cashless payments in all facets of retail – attended and unattended, whether it be vending, self checkouts, kiosks, or other methods.

The additional profits and today’s conditions make vending and unattended retail a viable competitor to traditional storefront retail with person-to-person close contact. And Nayax’s specialized opportunities, such as customer loyalty programs, sales, discounts and other opportunities normally associated only with in-person retail, will help ensure repeat consumer traffic for vending operators, enabling them to compete with the store next door.

Vending machines are installed in multiple locations, and while many of those locations have decreased traffic now, such as airports, people will start to travel again, and, therefore, the economy can expect that these types of locations will recover relatively quickly. And as unattended and vending machine purchases inherently reduce person-to-person contact, vending purchases may very well increase in demand, especially when the use of credit card payments via Nayax terminals are available. Nayax devices are EMV chip card certified and enabled, but do not require touching a PIN pad, therefore eliminating the handling of germ-ridden cash.

A video with 12 suggestions as to how vending, micro market and office coffee operators can sustain their businesses during these challenging times has been posted by  Parlevel Systems . To view the video, click on the graphic. 

One of Parlevel’s main suggestions is to leverage today’s technology.  “It is imperative to streamline your operations and boost sales in active accounts,” the company said.

“Cashless readers, vending management systems, micro market promotions – now is the time to use technology to run your operation at maximum efficiency.  From optimizing operations, to offering additional services, and thinking outside the box – our coronavirus operations guide gives you 12 steps you can take to find success in these challenging times,” the company added. 

Parlevel says the tips are a combination of advice given by authorities like governmental agencies and NAMA, and a collection of personal best practices given by successful operators.

A virtually contact-free vending machine designed to sell personal protective equipment in a medical or industrial environment is being rolled out by AMS Vendors and Betson Enterprises , powered by Vagabond . The AMS Touchless Medical vending machine can be delivered within three weeks, and a supply line is being established to help operators stock the machines.

The introduction comes at a time when consumers worldwide are becoming more aware of touching common surfaces such as vending keypads and maintaining safe distance because of the Coronavirus crisis. Executives at AMS and Betson tout the technology as another way vending operators can sell product in a safe environment.

Yo-Kai Express  has developed a vending machine which delivers ramen noodles in a hot bowl in 45 seconds. Machines are currently being placed in corporate and public locations around San Francisco. 

Created five years ago by Andy Lin, a Silicon Valley-based electrical engineer who was frustrated at not being able to find a way to order a ramen noodle bowl in the middle of the night, Yo-Kai means “monster” in Japanese. The machine is also nicknamed “octo-chef” by Lin and his team because it seemingly does the impossible job of offering a gourmet-style bowl of ramen noodles without the consumer having to wait for someone to make the order.

What Are the Yo-Kai Express Vending Machines Like?  

Yo-Kai machines are instantly recognizable because the fun colors and eye-catching graphics as well as the large touch screen order display. Each menu item has a picture so the consumer knows what the final product will look like.

Got Tech News? Email Jeff Adair
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