August 2023 - 16

walk-out retail store with easy access to food, beverages
and essentials. The store features overhead cameras and
intelligent shelf sensors, which combine detection, visual
cognition and secure payment integration.
Instant Retail Systems also showcased its Self Service
Store in NAMA's Imagination Way. Customers are
tracked with cameras while they shop, and shelf sensor
technologies monitor the inventory. Items removed from
shelves are added to the customer's virtual shopping cart
where they can modify and confirm their items prior to
payment at the exit.
Smart machines
New smart machines using AI product recognition
technology have the potential to replace vending
machines in some locations. For example, 365 Retail
Markets' Stockwell 2.0 houses refrigerated and ambient
products while offering consumers a frictionless micro
market experience, and the dual-environment technology
allows operators to maximize space with one machine.
AI product recognition eliminates product scanning,
and Pico Market compatibility enables versatile payment
Photo 263142051 © Fizkes | Dreamstime.com
options including tap-to-pay, 365Pay app and traditional
credit card payments.
In the NAMA educational session, " Advancing the
Consumer Journey in Foodservice Unattended Retail, "
Ryan McWhirter, VP of product management with 365
Retail Markets, said his company's core principle is to
make using its equipment fast, easy and intuitive for end
users. He added that a phone and a kiosk are often seen
as competitive, but 365 Retail Markets finds that they can
be compatible for checking out at a micro market, and a
variety of solutions in breakrooms can be used to meet
customer needs.
Bill Moxey, director of strategy and planning at PepsiCo,
also a session panelist, added that 70% of consumers want
to have a more seamless, instant and convenient experience
when they are shopping in the food and beverage space.
NEW LOCATION OPPORTUNITIES
According to data from the recent Automatic Merchandiser
State of the Industry Report for Vending and Micro
Market, operators shared that more and more of their
vending locations are being converted to micro markets
due to more office re-openings. In 2022, manufacturing
locations increased 7.5% from the previous year, and office
locations increased 4.5%. Operators also shared that they
are finding more opportunities for micro market locations
at hotel and motels, which also jumped in 2022 - as well as
a trend for airport locations, which is expected to grow in
2023 and beyond.
CONCLUSION
Whether it is updating vending machines to cashless or
implementing a fully locked micro market using artificial
intelligence and computer vision, these new technologies
are available for operators to meet customer demands for a
quick, easy and convenient purchasing experience. ■
16 Automatic Merchandiser * August 2023
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August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2023
