August 2022 - 14

the biggest challenge in enabling new
ways for consumers to pay, is to break
their old habits, and COVID did just
that. Now consumers know the ease
of tapping their card or mobile phone,
and I think we'll see this trend continue
to grow even into the future. "
McWhirter adds that while touchless
features have plateaued since
mid-2021, the speed and convenience
of the transaction and those principles
will continue to inform new user
experiences going forward. " At 365
Retail Markets, we were fortunate to
have already had touchless checkout
capacity on our kiosks prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic. That said,
we did add some capabilities to our
365Pay app around touchless coffee and
vending so consumers could engage
with those devices similarly, " he noted.
GROWTH IN SELF SERVICE
Not only do consumers want to pay
with any and all methods, they also
prefer to shop at their own pace and
oftentimes choose self-service. Look
no further than the rise in self-service
checkouts at grocery stores and QSRs
like McDonald's. In the education
session " Unattended Retail in
Foodservice: Consumer Trends in the
Evolving Space " at the 2022 NAMA
Show, PepsiCo's Bill Moxey cited a 2018
study from McDonald's in which the
company found that consumers wanted
more control of the transaction.
" Consumers wanted to know
exactly what they were getting and
that they could put it back if they
changed their mind. The irony is
that those consumers bought more
from the kiosk than they did from a
server at the counter, " he said. " When
consumers feel less pressure, they feel
more comfortable and they buy more.
In this fast-paced world that we live
in, we need to give consumers time to
think and not feel pressure. "
Cantaloupe's Steiner echoed these
sentiments. " Consumers don't want
14 Automatic Merchandiser * August 2022
Operators don't have to do just food and beverage anymore.
They can diversify their business and be a tool for other retail
establishments to expand because they have the routing,
logistics, warehouse and processes that make servicing,
managing and restocking self-service locations efficient. "
- Elyssa Steiner, vice president of marketing at Cantaloupe
to interact with humans to complete
a transaction and, in some cases, find
self-checkout far easier and safer to
use. This trend is proven through the
acceleration of kiosks not only in retail
or grocery stores, but also in places
like airports, train stations and more, "
she said.
In the education session, " Retail
Reimagined: An Interview with
Experts " , Robert Gebhardt, VP
Experience Services Lead America
at Jones Lang LaSalle, noted that the
pandemic changed the way consumers
shop; therefore, businesses need to
rethink how they sell to a consumer.
" When the pandemic hit, we
were all forced to do the same thing:
pack your bags and go home. I think
there was an instantaneous fear that
the office environment is dead, that
it's never going to return, but that is
absolutely the furthest thing from
the truth, " he said. " But this change
requires us to think differently. We
need to follow that employee along
on their journey while they are at
home, while they are on their way
into the office, while they are in the
office and as they plan to leave the
office. We need to think about all the
opportunities that we have to engage
with them. "
This may mean operators look
beyond traditional vending solutions
toward more scalable self-service
solutions, creating a one-stop-shop
for the customer.
OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND
For operators looking toward the
future, experts recommend thinking
outside of traditional vending
offerings. " Think outside of snacks
and sodas, " said David Ashforth,
co-founder of Digital Media Vending
International. " Almost anything you
can imagine can be dispensed now.
America is the land of opportunity and
innovation, it's time for operators to
innovate and think outside of the box. "
Cantaloupe's Steiner agrees. " I
think operators must be willing to
expand outside of food and beverage, "
she said. " Self-service is growing at a
rapid pace, and there is tremendous
opportunity for operators who have
distribution models already set up,
to capitalize on these trends for other
consumable products. I think the
biggest challenge is getting out of that
mindset that this is only a food and
beverage industry. Operators don't
have to do just food and beverage
anymore. They can diversify their
business and be a tool for other retail
establishments to expand because they
have the routing, logistics, warehouse
and processes that make servicing,
managing and restocking self-service
locations efficient. "
She recommends that operators
take action on testing and trying new
applications, including taking micro
markets or smart coolers into locations
that weren't previously considered,
such as apartment complexes or hotels.
August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2022
