How will vending machine industry develop in the future?
With the development of the new retail industry, we often see self-service vending machines such as automatic orange juice vending machines,snack vending machines, beverage vending machines, lunch box vending machines, automatic milk vending machines, etc.; there are also freshly ground coffee automatics. Vending machines, unmanned ice cream vending machines, etc. In fact, with the upgrading of consumption and changes in consumption patterns, our country’s self-service vending industry has ushered in the spring of development. People’s demand for convenience is increasing. Food, French fries, laundry detergent, flowers, etc. may all be self-service. Realized in the vending machine. This is the gospel of people’s convenient life, and it is also a new enlightenment for the future development of the industry.
For self-service vending machines, I believe many people will not be unfamiliar. In recent years, self-service vending machines selling beverages, snacks and other commodities have sprung up in shopping malls, subway stations, airports, high-speed rail stations, office buildings and other places with relatively dense traffic in various cities.
However, many people may think that when passing by these vending machines, they don’t see many people patronizing or using these machines to buy things, and they feel that the business of self-service vending machines in China is not easy to do. However, as the new generation of self-service vending machines such as self-service coffee machines and self-service juice machines have become popular one after another recently, the field of self-service vending machines seems to usher in “spring”.
Self-service smart vending machines are still in their infancy in China
In recent years, self-service vending machines are nothing new in China. The first batch of self-service vending machines appeared in China around 2000. However, the development of self-service vending machines has been very slow in the past ten years. According to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, there were approximately 390,000 self-service vending machines in China as of the end of 2018.
From a global perspective, self-service vending machines appeared earlier. After the United States developed self-service vending machines for selling cigarettes in 1925, self-service vending machines for selling stamps, bus tickets, drinks, snacks and other commodities also appeared one after another and expanded to the world. Among them, the United States and Japan are the most common countries where self-service vending machines are used.
According to statistics in 2010, the number of self-service vending machines in Japan is about 5.08 million, an average of one for every 23 people, and the sales of self-service vending machines are about 5 trillion yen (about 300 billion yuan).
Starting from the earlier cigarette vending machines, the functions and product types of the self-service vending machines have been continuously improved. In addition to common drinks, potato chips, cigarettes, there are also self-service vending services such as change of change, rental video, newspapers, and tableware. Known as the “24-hour micro supermarket”.
However, after the self-service vending machine appeared in our country, it has not received good market feedback. The various hidden operational risks of the self-service vending machine system, immature payment models, single product types, unreasonable prices (slightly higher than convenience stores), and single coin payment methods make Chinese consumers not optimistic about the market . Therefore, the self-service vending machine that was once called “24-hour automatic profitable business” abroad has a very deserted business in China.
Compared with the number of millions of self-service vending machines in other countries, the number of machines in my country is only a few hundred thousand, which means that the domestic self-service vending machine market is still in its infancy. This stagnant market development environment did not improve until 2013. With the development and popularization of mobile payment technology in recent years and the changes in public consumption habits, the domestic self-service vending machine industry has gradually emerged. Both the number of machines and the scale of the market have gradually expanded, and finally they are no longer just regarded as “decorations” in the corner of the street.
Automatic freshly ground coffee machine has great market potential
In all fairness, self-service vending machines are very convenient and a huge market with great potential. In comparison, self-service vending machines placed in subway stations, high-speed rail stations, office buildings, and communities are much closer to convenience stores, which is very convenient for people in urgent need. With the rise and popularization of mobile payment and the continuous exploration and innovation of the self-service vending machine industry, a new development route has finally been found. Many people have said that it is inconvenient for self-service vending machines to only support coin payments. Now, most of the machines have begun to support Alipay and WeChat Pay, apple-pay and credit card.
According to reports, the self-service vending industry roughly includes two categories. One category is self-service equipment for purely selling commodities, that is, self-service vending cabinets that people often see at the company’s pantry and at the gates of residential communities. Service providers and brands involved in the product itself. Another category is self-service equipment that participates in on-site production and sales. It also has high-tech equipment, a complete Internet-based supply chain, and large-scale launches. The freshly ground iced coffee vending machine developed by New Saier, adds a Wi-Fi module and an intelligent operating system to the traditional self-service coffee machine. Users can choose more than 10 flavors of coffee. The most important is the machines supply hot and ice coffee,not only one kind hot cup, safe to drink.
In our country, coffee currently has a market size of 70 billion yuan, instant coffee accounts for 50 billion yuan, and freshly ground coffee only 20 billion yuan. On the one hand, as coffee has become a functional daily beverage from the niche beverages demanded by places, it has become more and more affordable. On the other hand, under the tide of consumption upgrading, more and more consumers will be willing to spend more money in exchange for more added value of goods in the future. In the future, self-service coffee machines with “medium-quality and low-price” will usher in explosive growth. The most likely expansion of self-service coffee machines is in factories and airports. The factory is actually a place where coffee is consumed more than the airport, because workers treat coffee as a kind of beverage, and a cup of coffee during the night shift can be refreshing. If the price of a cup of self-service freshly ground coffee drops to less than 10 yuan, for workers, the price is no longer a factor that hinders consumption.
