Newer Vending Machines and Higher Sales
Vending machines have certainly changed in style from the past. In fact some of the very old ones are collector's items. There is one inside of our local barber shop that he stocks cold drinks in for the kids that come in to get a hair cut. He gives them the coins to insert after they have been taken care of. It is really a great treat for my kids and I am sure it is for many others as well.
That got me to thinking about the attractiveness of a vending machine. It seems like it really does influence sales, especially when there are many of them in the same area. People tend to gravitate towards those that are colorful and even that dispense products in a way that you can see the process through the front of the machine.
This newer machine was definitely appealing to those walking into the store, especially children. It features a design on the front of it that changes from one picture to the next. Some people stopped to look at it and I did see some people buying from it just to do so. Yet many people were counting their change and then reviewing the prices on the vending machines. It wasn't surprising that this newer machine sold products at twenty cents more than most of the others.
You can be sure these newer looking vending machines will start to crop up all over the place. They are likely being sold as a way to get more sales. Yet you need to be very cautious about falling for this line of talk. There may not be such a connection between the look of a vending machine and the volume of sales. You could just end up spending more money on your equipment going this route.
Having an attractive vending machine such as these is going to cost a lot more money though. That is really something you will have to consider before you invest in one of them. Why pay thousands of dollars more for the look of the vending machine and then have less profit? Of course the image of something is very high profile in our society so that is where this concept comes from.
Since you must have your vending machine locations secured before you go shopping for the vending machine you can evaluate what your competition looks like. Hopefully you are finding great places to display your vending machines where there aren't so many to choose from already. Then the attractiveness of the vending machine doesn't become such an issue.
This isn't to say though that you don't want to invest in vending machines that look nice. People want to feel like they are going to be operational when they approach them instead of being on their last leg. Yet the look of it won't be nearly as important to consumers as one may assume. They want to buy the food or drink they are looking for and that is all.
You need to focus more on the reliability of the vending machines you have than anything else. This is what will keep your customers happy and coming back again. Wash the outside of the vending machines on occasion to remove dirt and debris. Make sure you replace anything that is broken even if it is only cosmetic in nature. If the lights are burned out it can give customers the impression that your vending machine isn't working.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Robert Farnham started his vending business the wrong way. To read how he built a successful vending business and learn why you should avoid unethical vending locators, you can read more details on his sites.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, which means you may freely reprint it, in its entirety, provided you include the author's resource box along with LIVE links (without "nofollow" tags).
by: RobertFarnham
Total views: 19
Word Count: 573
Rating: Not yet rated