Automatic Merchandiser - 29

MICRO

"When you go from a vending
machine to a micro market, you see a
revenue boost just from the change in
platform," said Johnson. "But the huge
opportunity, and where the lightbulb
is going on for some operators, is how
micro markets provide an opportunity
for customer engagement."
Now it is not just someone putting money into a machine, indicates
Johnson. Now it's about operators
identifying that customer and driving up customer retention through
engagement.
"Our operators have figured out
that the lifetime value of that registered micro market customer is
four times as much as an anonymous customer," said Johnson. To
take advantage of the lifetime value
of the customer, Yoke's platform,
called Yoke Portal, offers a loyalty
program based on the points-for-

purchase model. It defaults to the
customer earning 2 points for each
$1.00 spent and/or for each $1.00
loaded onto the account.
"It helps the customer earn market rewards really fast," said Johnson.
"It gamifies it, which consumers like.
Plus, it engages. Lastly, the money
being electronic motivates customers
to spend faster. It's the psychology
of electronic money not seeming as
real as cash."
Operators are able to adjust the
point threshold of the program as
well. "They can see what 80 points
equals from a sales standpoint or a
reload standpoint," said Ben Thomas,
co-founder of Yoke. "They can adjust
it so that what the customer earns
for the points makes sense [for the
operator and the region]."
Yoke isn't the only micro market
technology supplier that allows operators to create a points-for-purchase
promotion. Most of the
major suppliers do,
including Avanti
Markets.

Mobile promotions
John Reilly, president of Avanti
Markets, gave a presentation of Avanti's new technology
and features, which
included the addition
of loyalty points under
the "Avanti Advantage"
program.
"The loyalty program
is all about engaging with
our customers," Reilly
said. Operators can set
the loyalty points based on
purchases and/or visits. All
the point redemption details
as well as products and
Mobile apps provide easy access
to loyalty programs and other
promotions.

June/July 2019

MARKET

SALES

prizes that result in points are available to the consumer via the mobile
app, while operators can access it on
the backend.
Consumers are expecting to see
these types of loyalty point programs
and will use them, says Danna from
Three Square Market. "This model
is what all of the major retailers/airlines have been implementing and
our operators have the same access
to custom build their own loyalty
system," he said.
Three Square Market offers the
ability to customize the products that
can be part of the loyalty program as
well as the point value. The customer
has the option to pay with points once
enough are accrued.

Setting bundled deals
Another key micro market promotion
that operators can use is the ability
to set prices and discounts when the
consumer purchases multiple items.
"When we are talking with our
operators, we are always speaking
about transitioning from a traditional vending mindset of single item
purchases to 'How do we get every
purchase to be multi-item?'" said
Danna. With a backend system that
allows for "meal deals," the operator can set up specific items within
categories, such as a meal promotion
that offers chips and a drink for a
certain dollar amount along with the
purchase of a sandwich.
"It's our most popular promotion," Danna said.
Bundling items together can work
for encouraging sales at various times
throughout the day. For example,
Danna explains that coffee draws
consumers into a micro market.
How then can operators capitalize
on those coffee visits? He suggests
tying a coffee purchase with a breakfast item such as a flapjack, muffin or
breakfast bar.
For the time between breakfast
and lunch and between lunch and

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29
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