Every year, Vending MarketWatch publishes its State of the Industry Report, which breaks down vending locations, sales and more from the previous year. We are going to break down the 2019 report in order for you to get a better understanding of how your vending business can continue to grow.
Locations
Just because vending machines can be placed anywhere, does not mean they should be placed anywhere. According to surveys conducted by Automatic Merchandiser, the most popular locations to place a vending machine are manufacturing facilities and offices, with 22.1% of vending machines placed at each location. Correctional facilities are the least popular places to place vending machines, with just 2.4% of vending machines being placed there, which is an increase from the previous year.
What does this information mean for you? This report shows that while offices and manufacturing facilities are still very popular for vending, there may be a lot of potential in less popular locations, such as correctional facilities and military bases. If you are a business owner looking to add a vending machine to your location, contact us to see if your location could support vending equipment.
Cold Beverage
To no surprise, cold beverages still remain at the top of vending industry sales. In 2019, cold beverages made up 22.8% of sales, which is a significant decrease from the previous year. To help support your vending business and sales, Vending.com offers a variety of cold beverage vending machines, which provides your customers with the cold beverages they crave.
A surprise in this year’s report shows that cold beverages do not stand alone at the top of the sales chart. A new category has gained a lot of ground over the past year and shows no signs of slowing down.
Opportunities for Growth – Retail
Shooting to the top of the product sales category with cold beverages in 2019 was the other category, which includes non-edible items. This category grew from 7.7% to 22.8%. This shows that operators are looking to diversify their vending businesses.
If you are looking on capitalizing in the retail vending industry, especially amidst COVID-19, check out our Sani-Center PPE Vending Machine. These machines are created to provide customers with masks, sanitizers and more in order to keep you safe.
The vending industry is constantly changing and evolving. To access the full industry report, read the State of the Industry Report here. If you have any questions about how you can grow in the vending industry, give us a call at 1-800-548-1982.
