PV is delighted to publish Excel Vending’s excellent blog
At Excel Vending we ensure our finger is always on the pulse, and we’re never out the loop when it comes to vending technology.
Over the past year, technology in the industry has improved greatly. We’ve seen the likes of the touch screen vending machine, become more widely available, and also more machines using near field communications (NFC).
But it seems using your smartphone as a means of payment is just the tip of the iceberg. This year has also seen the likes of machines with built-in facial recognition software, like the one built by SAP Hana.
So where is the vending industry heading? Well, perhaps, in the not too distant future, we may see machines telling us what to buy, rather than it being us, the consumers, who makes the decision.
Can vending machines really be so intelligent, that they can tell us what we want to eat or drink?
The idea maybe isn’t as far-fetched as it first seems. Again, SAP Hana have built and developed technology that can learn the habits of consumers. The technology works by using smartphones. Consumers would scan their smartphone in front of a ‘vending machine sensor’, which would then activate a touch screen interface with purchase options.
The cloud menu would then recognise the user and could eventually build a user profile based on purchase history, allowing it to eliminate products that you don’t buy, and making buying suggestions to you. But that’s not where this technology would end. Consumers would be able to select promotional offers and give feedback on their purchases.
Even gifts can be sent between app users, who would then be informed via text of their gift credit, which would make vending a more sociable experience. This is pretty new technology in the world of vending, so it’s something we’ll be keeping a close eye on.
What do you think? Would you like to be told by a machines what you can and can’t have, or would you like to retain the power to choose anything from the machine?
*We’re grateful that Excel Vending has given us permission to republish – we’ll bring you further editions as soon as they become available.
To find out more about Excel Vending, click here, or call 01355 269999.
