Automatic Merchandiser - 20

SMALL OPERATIONS

Advice Tailored to the 1 to 4 route operation

How To Increase
Sales And Profits

Changing the way you see things can impact your bottom line
By Gary Joyner, Contributor

Macy's sells Apple products -
including AirPods and Apple Watch
accessories - in vending machines at
some of their department stores. I've
often heard from vending company
owners and managers that customers will not spend much money for
merchandise sold through vending
machines, but Apple products are
priced higher than standard vending
machine fare.
Ten years ago, the Minnesota
Vikings placed vending machines offering apparel, memorabilia and souvenirs
at Mall of America in Minneapolis,
Minn. Some of the merchandise was
priced more than $100.
ANOTHER TRAVEL DISCOVERY

166369854 | Sergiomonti | Dreamstime

AFTER LANDING AT THE AIRPORT

in Raleigh, N.C., I was walking to the
car rental area when a big, red CVS
Pharmacy vending machine caught
my eye. It had over 70 items offered
for sale! It dawned on me that if CVS
can sell all those products, so can
traditional vending companies. When
I got to my hotel, I began to search
online for what kind of merchandise
is sold in vending machines across the
U.S. that traditional vending operators may not be currently offering to
their locations.
FROM MEAT TO MEMORABILIA

Owens Meats in Seattle, Wash., has
12 meat vending machines placed
at various locations in the greater
Seattle area. I called Owens Meats and

20

Automatic Merchandiser * June/July 2020

spoke with one of the owners, who
said they've been selling beef jerky,
pepperoni, summer sausage and other
smoked and cured meat products
for several years, with most products
priced around $5 to $8. He said they
will keep installing their "candy store
for carnivores" at more locations.
Some of their meat machines have
sales of up to $300 per day, and at very
good profit margins, he said.
Here is something that will knock
your socks off: Nordstrom had called
and asked if Owens Meats would put
one of their meat vending machines
at their flagship store in downtown
Seattle. Of course, the answer was "yes"
and this was featured on some of the
local television stations - talk about
free advertising!

A couple of months ago, I stopped at a
Florida welcome center on Interstate 75
while I was on my way back from our
branch office in Marietta, Ga. When
I visit an interstate rest stop, I always
check out the vending machines. This
time, a 5-wide snack machine caught
my attention because it had no snacks.
Instead, it had several different colorful
Florida themed T-shirts, sunscreen,
sunglasses and other items tourists
use when visiting Florida, with prices
ranging from $4.50 to $12.95. While
I was standing there, two customers
purchased products from the machine.
The price range of the merchandise
in all these examples is far higher than
the prices normally associated with
vending machines. I started in the
vending industry in 1994 in Orlando,
Fla., and have had numerous vending operators around the country tell
me that their customers will not pay
over $3 for products out of a vending
machine. It appears that is no longer
the case in 2020.
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