Category: Office Management

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Could Free Samples From a Vending Machine Lead to a Full-Size Product Purchase?

freeosk

If you’ve ever been to a grocery store on the weekend, you’re probably familiar with the concept of free samples. Grocery store employees stand by a table, offering small sample servings of a particular product. The goal is to get you to try something you may not have in the past and to also entice you to purchase a product that was previously not on your radar. Can the same free sample concept yield the same benefits for vending machines across the country and increase sales? One Chicago-based startup recently attempted to find out and discovered something pretty incredible as a result.

The startup in question is called Freeosk and is run by a man named Matt Eichorn. Freeosk vending machines provide both food items and personal care products and currently have vending machines in roughly 650 Sam’s Club locations across the country. The vending machines dispense free samples of certain featured products to customers that they can then buy from Sam’s Club should they so choose. The experiment is already a success and has seen the sales of those featured products increase significantly soon after the free vending machine samples are given.

As a concept, Freeosk and its free samples are creating a bit of a “win win” situation for everyone involved. In order for a brand’s product to make it into a Freeosk as one of its “featured items,” that company must pay Freeosk for the privilege. The retailer partner (in this case Sam’s Club) also benefits, because if customers like the free samples they can then go elsewhere in the store and buy more of those products in bulk.

Even the brands themselves benefit, as free vending machine samples are a great way to increase brand engagement in a very controlled environment.

According to Sam’s Club, the customers themselves are also benefiting. Not only do they get the chance to try out products that they may not have otherwise, but Sam’s Club indicates that its members love to sample new products in general. They consider it an easy and fun way to discover new items.

If you’re a vending machine owner and are looking for a way to increase full-size product sales across the board, Freeosk and Sam’s Club have recently revealed that free vending machine samples are the way to go. With the advancements that have been made in vending machine technology in the last several years, free samples may just end up being one of the most cost-effective ways to boost revenue to come along in quite some time. Get started on this idea by checking out our selection of affordable vending machines here at Vending.com.

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Vending Wallet & Greenlite Mobile Payment System  

greenlite2If recent trends are to be believed, the concept of paying for goods and services in cash may be a thing of the past – at least as far as millennials are concerned. More and more young people are increasingly paying with Apple Pay and similar types of mobile payment systems that rely more on technology and less on good, old-fashioned currency.

What is Mobile Payment?

Mobile payment uses credit, debit card or bank account information tied to a user’s smartphone to allow them to use technology like near field communication to pay for goods and services at many stores. Apple Pay is perhaps the most famous mobile payment system currently in existence, which allows users to pay for items using their iPhone 6 or similar iOS 8-powered devices. It launched in October of 2014, though it has long since been joined by similar services from many leading providers.

Mobile Payment and Vending Machines

Mobile payment vending machines are gaining a great deal of traction. Vending machines are already designed to offer quick, convenient experiences. This experience has only been made even faster and more efficient thanks to the fact that users can pay for items in seconds using their smartphones, smart watches and similar types of devices. These types of situations also have the benefit of being safer and more secure than a vending machine with a credit card reader.

GreenLite

One example of a mobile payment vending option is the GreenLite Credit Card Reader by Vending.com. It’s a turn-key, cashless technology that is totally secure and offers management 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Built into GreenLite are a number of features that make it incredibly attractive to providers like machine sales tracking, integrated cash versus cashless reporting, alerts for the health and status of a particular machine and more.

In addition to making the vending experience more pleasing for consumers, it’s also making it easier for the vendors themselves to manage their machines and make sure that they’re performing to peak efficiency than ever before.

Keeping up with the breakneck pace of technology has long been seen as a cost of doing business in the modern world. Thanks to mobile payment technology and services like the GreenLite system from Vending.com, however, technology is actually encouraging the investment for vending machine operators and providers all over the world. In addition to turning vending machines into a more customer-centric experience, they also bring with them a host of benefits that would have been thought to be impossible just a few short years ago.

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There’s No Stopping The Social Vending Revolution by Retailers

Social media reaches into the homes, smartphones, tablets, and thoughts of every person daily. However, people do not usually equate social media with vending machines, yet that is exactly what is happening. Vending machine manufacturers have seen the uptick in use of social media as a vending machine campaign to expand their current market. The social vending industry requires users to perform a given task on social media in the hopes of winning a prize. Finding a vending machine for sale doesn’t quite describe how the masses have responded to the use of social media vending machine campaigns.

All-Star Prizes and the Cincinnati Reds

With baseball season officially in full swing, the Cincinnati Reds want to show appreciation to their fans, and a social media vending machine campaign was an excellent option. Users would line up at the vending machine, and the machine would generate a unique Twitter hashtag for @AllStarGame. The vending machine provider would then randomly select All-Star Prizes for different people using the corresponding unique hashtag.

Fans won a variety of prizes, which included autographed baseballs by players in the Hall of Fame, former All-Stars, and current Reds players. In fact, at least one person won tickets to the iconic All-Star Game in July 2015.

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New Balance’s Free T-Shirt Promotion

Another social media vending machine is spitting out free t-shirts as a promotional product for a coming New Balance store.  However, some people were skeptical as to if the machine even had any t-shirts at all. Upon reading the Instagram post of one concerned follower, New Balance Philly advised people to try to get to the machine early since it is refilled every morning.

In addition to a free shirt, the Philly New Balance vending machine campaign promises to send out a gift card, valued between $10 and $500, to anyone who happens to score one of the free shirts. The shirts boast white lettering among a red background, and #LoveNBPhilly sends out the message of hitting up the vending machine.

new-balance

More businesses are looking to increase their profits, and the vast inter-connectedness of social media offers an excellent outlet for combining vending machines and social media. By promoting events, products or services, a vending machine manufacturer can enhance an organization’s image without expensive marketing campaigns. Candy bars and sodas won’t be the only things in a vending machine for sale anymore; the selections will be amazing prizes, free gifts, and opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime events.

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Cashless Vending, More Than Just a Trend

Organizations all over the world have long been looking for new and unique ways to innovate with regards to the types of vending machine products that they rely heavily on daily. When these types of machines are available in many public places wherever you go, it can be difficult for a vending machine manufacturer to really stand out in a crowd. One of the major innovations of the last decade was a machine that accepted credit and debit cards in addition to cash. Now, many companies are moving towards the idea of completely cashless vending for the benefit of consumers everywhere.

What is Cashless Vending?

Thought it may be logical to assume that cashless vending is “just” a vending machine that also takes credit or debit cards, this isn’t entirely accurate. A true cashless vending solution will also accept the types of mobile payment systems that customers are embracing today, like Apple Pay and similar services. Users can swipe their smartphone near an NFC reader located on the machine itself to automatically deduct money from an associated account. This makes the entire vending process easier and more secure than it has ever been.

Greenlite by Vending.com

greeliteOne bold example of this type of technology at work is the new Greenlite system by Vending.com. It’s a turn-key cashless solution that relies instead on the latest card and mobile payment systems, along with the type of web-based reporting and management tools that allow businesses to increase their return on investment in a very significant way.

One of the biggest advantages of the Greenlite system has to do with the type of machine sales tracking that it offers businesses. In the “old days” of vending machines, you essentially had to use your best judgment regarding which types of products you should be ordering and in what quantities. With machine sales tracking, you now have actionable, real-time information regarding trends, likes and dislikes that are all derived from actual consumer behavior. You can not only tell what products are selling but how quickly and at what times of the day. Businesses no longer have to rely solely on “instinct’ when it comes to making purchasing decisions – they now have actual hard data that they can use instead.

Greenlite also allows businesses to integrate two-tier pricing depending on location. A business might offer a discount on certain items for people who choose to pay with cash, for example. The system also includes helpful alerts that will provide constant updates on the health and status of the machine in question, making it easier to identify when repairs are necessary and when replacement parts need to be ordered.

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Smart Vending Machines | The Latest Tech Trends

SAP-Connected-Retail-VIDEO-12-11-2014-2Vending machines are changing – and for the better. According to Forbes, you won’t even be able to recognize vending machines in just a few years. So what is expected to change?  The way we buy and how we buy items from vending machines.

To start with, expect to see healthier food items, especially in snack vending machines and drink vending machines. People want healthier food options and are more willing to eat or drink something from a healthy snack vending machine that will make them feel good, while giving them the energy boost they need to get on with their day. In fact, many vending machines have begun to post calorie labels on their food and drink items.

So what else can these vending machines do?

According to Forbes, the future of vending is so smart, that these machines will be able to use facial recognition. In fact, the machine will be able to greet customers, remember their preferences, and even refuse to sell an item to a customer based on age or medical records.

In addition, vending machines are taking hold of the cashless trend as many people prefer to purchase items with a credit card or debit card. To take it a step further, customers won’t even need to have a credit or debit card to purchase items from snack and drink vending machines in the future. All you need is an iPhone 6. And if your phone’s battery is nearly dead, don’t worry, most smart vending machines come equipped with an iPhone charging station – so you can snack while your charge your phone. Also, all payment information is never stored, protecting customers from fraud.

With the customer taken care of, that just leaves the vending machine operators. Long gone will be the days when operators had to physically check every snack vending machine at each different location.  Instead, smart vending machines use technology that allow inventory data to be stored and tracked.  This means that the operator will know exactly when to refill their machines and with what products.

But what makes these vending machines even more unique is their level of interaction. By offering loyalty cards, cell phone charging stations, apps that help customers locate vending machines, and social media sharing options, vending machines are becoming a trendy way to quickly get healthy food and drink, particularly in schools.

While technology is constantly changing the way we interact with our world, with each other, and even with our food and drink, it’s no surprise then that vending technology is also transforming to suit our smart, modern lives.

The future of vending machines is transforming to offer healthy options, cashless purchasing, and can even recognize your face.

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Metro Adds Bus-Ticket Vending Machine in Seattle

orca_tap1King County Metro Transit is taking a bold step into the 21st century – at least as far as passengers are concerned. To help ease some of the stress on existing infrastructure, KCMT is putting a bus ticket dispensing vending machine on Third Avenue located conveniently between Stewart and Pine street in Seattle, WA. The hope is that instead of pushing money into the farebox as traditionally accomplished, users will instead use the vending machine to accomplish the same thing.

By pairing with a vending machine manufacturer for this transit vending machine, King County Metro Transit hopes to accomplish a few different goals at the same time. For starters, it adds a supplementary source of bus tickets that will hopefully relieve some stress during already crowded transit times. Additionally, the farebox has long been seen as a major source of delays for travelers in a number of different situations. Fumbling to cram cash into the front slot of the farebox can add several seconds to the D Line or E Line, for example. When you multiply “several seconds” by the thousands of passengers that pass through those areas on a regular basis, serious delays can occur as a result.

Metro indicates that there are currently around one tenth of the total number of passengers that go through the stop that pay with cash. To put that into perspective, more than 42,000 passengers use that stop to take 2,500 bus trips each weekday. Even if the transit ticket vending machine is only accommodating one tenth of those customers, you’re still talking about 4,200 people every day.

A concern about the practice, however, has to do with whether or not the vending machine will undercut the sale of regional ORCA cards. These fare cards are designed to be purchased in advance and used in much the same way E-ZPass is for drivers. You pay in advance to “fill” the card, swipe the card when you arrive and go about your way. If the vending machine manufacturer’s solution is just as easy, it may harm that particular program.

The Metro program puts a twist on the traditional “vending machine for sale” process. Instead of purchasing the machines outright, the machine is being loaned for use completely free of charge. Additionally, the county will pay a $10,000 regular fee to cover maintenance and general operational costs directly to the vending machine manufacturer. Much of that cost will be taken care of by a federal grant, however.

Vending machines certainly aren’t just for potato chips anymore. With examples like recycling vending machines, super market vending machines, and the way that metro is putting bus ticket vending machines to excellent use on Third Avenue, it’s easy to see why more and more industries are embracing the technology on a large scale.

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Companies Who Make Employee Health a Priority Show Enormous ROI

Healthy-Vending-MachineFor many people who wish to live healthier lifestyles, one of the biggest obstacles has always been the workplace. Depending on how busy your days are, you may not necessarily have time to run to the nearest healthy source of food during your lunch hour. Fast food, which is among the least healthiest food possible, may be the best option. Worse yet, even companies that have traditionally said that they encourage healthy activities in their employees usually stock vending machines filled with high calorie, low quality items for those workers to consume. The snack vending machine has long been the bane of existence to everyone who just wants to watch what they eat and lose a little weight while on the job.

That is, until now. Research has indicated that companies that make an active effort to make employee health a priority are showing an enormous return on investment when these types of programs are initiated in conjunction with a Healthy Vending Machine.

Vending machines in general are notorious for dispensing foods that are high in trans fats, filled to the brim with synthetic ingredients and include other unhealthy qualities that make it difficult to eat right while at work. Many vending machine manufacturers have started offering nutritious alternatives that are designed only to vend low fat, low carbohydrate and low sugar products. These are not limited to snacks – these can include drinks and even full meals depending on the specifics of the program in question.

The return on investment that companies are seeing for making employee health a priority falls into a few different categories depending on the situation. The most obvious is that employer health insurance premiums are directly related to the health of their workers. If your employees are only making poor food decisions all day, premiums will eventually go up as a result. Studies have indicated that not only are these premiums not going up, but they’re actually being lowered in many cases. Many employers have created employee-driven health groups designed to manage these initiatives in the workplace.

Additionally, the vending machines themselves are becoming a viable source of income for many businesses. Employees who are already trying to live health conscious lifestyles are enthusiastically using these types of machines at a higher frequency than ever.

One great example of this type of program in action is Vending.com’s Healthy Vending program. Vending.com is a vending machine manufacturer that has been in operation since 1931. In addition to selling specially designed vending machines that dispense food, snacks, coffee and everything in between, they are also doing their part to promote healthy eating in the workplace by way of the Healthy Vending program.

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Healthy, Local Snacks in Taste NY Vending Machine Program

laguardiaGovernor Andrew Cuomo of New York recently unveiled an exciting new type of snack vending machine that highlights healthy choices, supports local agriculture, and benefits the Food Bank of Central New York and the New York Commission for the Blind’s Enterprise Program. The Taste NY snack and drink vending machines debuted at the recent New York State Fair.

These exciting new vending machines break away from standard offerings to provide healthy vending machine choices from local New York producers. The vending machines are to be installed at select rest areas throughout the state of New York. Travelers will make their snack and drink choices among offerings from Chobani, Emmy’s Organics, Heluva Good Cheese curds and string cheese, Red Jacket Orchard juices, Barkeater Chocolates, Sweet Sam’s Cookies, and other local purveyors.

Governor Cuomo is hoping that in addition to promoting healthy New York vending machine snacking habits, the Taste NY program will support and broaden the audience from some of the state’s finest food producers. According to the Governor, “The Taste NY Program is continuing to raise the profile of many of our world-class brands, and I encourage all New Yorkers – whether at the State Fair this week or on a drive across the state this fall – to be on the lookout for these tremendous products.”

These vending machines will offer more than unique snacks to weary travelers. According to John Murn, Vice President of the New York State Vending Machine Association, “These state-of-the-art machines will feature a rotating selection of food and beverages that represent the diversity and creativity from producers across the State. Highlights from these machines will include video clips from New York-based companies as well as Taste NY videos.”

In addition to healthy fare, the Taste NY snack and drink vending machine program will benefit two-state charitable programs. The machines will be maintained by participants in the New York Commission for the Blind’s Enterprise Program. New York State Commission for the Blind Associate Commissioner Brian Daniels said, “The Commission for the Blind makes self-sufficiency for legally blind New Yorkers its top priority, and we are thrilled to… provide new jobs and provide more opportunities for individuals who are blind to achieve independence.”

Proceeds from the healthy vending machines will be used to support the efforts of the Food Bank of Central New York which provides food for over 11 million meals each year to the state’s residents.

The Taste NY snack vending machines will highlight a rotation of products from the larger Taste NY program. More information on the initiative is available at taste.ny.gov.

Source

https://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/management/news/11669212/governor-cuomo-announces-taste-ny-vending-machines-to-premiere-at-the-2014-great-new-york-state-fairhttp://www.vendingmarketwatch.com/news/11669212/governor-cuomo-announces-taste-ny-vending-machines-to-premiere-at-the-2014-great-new-york-state-fair

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Keep Your Employees Happy, While Saving Money

A company that keeps its employees happy is more productive overall and can more effectively meet the demands of the marketplace.

While benefits and other significant perks are a main focus for most businesses, smaller areas, such as an employee break room that offers nutritious foods, can also be perceived as important.

Employees usually need a nice, convenient working environment in order to concentrate on work, and spend less energy on decisions that support their general well-being. This is the reason that parking and other basic needs are usually important features of a positive work culture.

In the case of an employee break room, having a positive environment that offers nice decor, ample seating, and a comfortable space for either sitting alone or gathering with a colleague or two over a beverage or a quick meal, is important.

A break between work that recharges energy, gives an employee social support and offers a source of pride is a great gift for your workforce that can establish trust, reduce employee sick days and turnover, and increase your bottom line.

Vending Machine

A vending machine in a company break room is a primary source for snacks and even meals for many employees. While foods are also often purchased elsewhere, the convenience of on-site vending snacks and meal-friendly foods frequently becomes a staple for those working hard and requiring nutritious support to bring them to the next meal. In some cases, selections in a vending machine can actually offer meal replacements, which is a great time save that need to remain on the company grounds between meals.

Your employees may be eagerly anticipating the next vending machine selections that you choose.

Selecting snacks that provide nutrition, such as yogurt, cheese, pita chips, and sugar-free or low-sugar beverages, such as Vitamin Water, can support a healthier culture and extend productivity. If you instead stock a vending machine with mostly sugary snacks and offer fewer healthy options, it could affect the attention span of employees, and even their health.

A vending machine is traditionally considered a source of junk food, but the image and available food options is changing. Stocking an employee break room drink vending machines with tea, water and seltzer water, and a snack vending machine with fruit, and savory healthy foods will help show that the company is supporting their well-being and is aware of the leading health trends.

Purchasing a vending machine for sale and its products through Vending.com, which has been manufacturing vending machines since 1931, will give you the necessary tools to deliver a superior break room environment to your prized employees. It is crucial to work with a trusted and reliable company that knows the industry. From a coffee vending machine to one that includes mostly food products, Vending.com has you covered.

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Back To School | Healthy Vending Options

snack machinesToday’s student in the U.S. is used to choosing from a variety of options. From classes, to friends, to after school activities, variety is the spice of life in middle and high schools. This may be a key reason that the vending machine has been such a successful tool for satisfying hunger cravings for our nation’s kids. Beyond its function as a nutritional vehicle for keeping kids alert and energized, it is also a significant revenue builder for the nation’s schools.

This fall a federal law will require vending machines placed in educational environments to forgo the candy and sweet treats in favor of healthy vending machine snacks in schools. Some school administrators worry about the financial impact. Many have been grappling with the decline in revenue since regular sodas have been replaced with diet and sugar-free versions. Fortunately, along with Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative to fight against childhood obesity, the nation has been trending toward a more sophisticated approach to eating with health and flavor in mind.

The vending machine is now at the center of the debate in school-based nutrition. Some commercial vending companies today, such as Vending.com, support healthy vending machine snacks in schools. From Vitamin Water and spring water instead of soda, to baked potato chips instead of the oilier counterparts and dried fruit in place of baked goods and other sweet tooth snacks, Vending.com knows how to satisfy a kid’s need for variety within the limits of federal regulations successfully. Yogurt and energy bars are other nutrient dense snack food alternatives to sweet and unhealthy foods that kids choose and parents can rest easy about.

The new, healthier products, coupled with technology, gives students an exciting and fun way to meet energy needs throughout the day, and to have fun while doing it.

A Vending.com representative can advise you about the user-friendly healthy vending machine snacks in schools and a vending machine for sale that offers benefits, such as:

  • filling a vending machine that still entices the kids to buy products
  • meet guidelines
  • give you a return on investment that makes sense