Published • 2 Mar 2021
NEW! 365 Status Page
We are always working to bring more efficiencies and value to our partners! One new feature we are excited to launch this year is the new 365 Outage Communications Status Page. Moving forward, we will be using our new status page to keep you informed and up to date during outages and scheduled maintenances. This page will serve as the main communication tool if we are having any system upgrades or issues.
Initially our communications team will send out an email alerting you to an outage or maintenance and then from there we ask that you check for status changes on our page. Check out the documentation within the HelpCenter for more info. If you have any questions, please reach out to your 365 Rep. We are very enthusiastic about bringing new and enhanced ways to communicate to you and your teams.
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Innovation In Vending
The new decade has proven that those who don’t innovate will be left behind, and the vending industry is not exempt from such thinking. Over the past year, we’ve seen an overhaul in the industry to keep abreast with the societal changes brought on by COVID-19 and having lasting changes for the future of the industry.
TECHNOLOGY
The biggest and most notable change is the push for touchless in self-service. In Kiosk Marketplace’s article “Touchless Makes Big Strides in Self Service,” discuss how the change ranges from simple solutions to more complex tools. They also discuss the touchless trend being prominent in 2021 and well into the future, continuing to be a consumer demand.
Companies, like us at 365 Retail Markets, answered the call for touchless technologies with products like the 365Pico Platform. Compatibility with both coolers and vending machines, it offers a low-contact way to engage in vending.
RETHINKING VENDING
When the average person thinks of vending, they often think of junk food and soda. Yet along with the future moving towards touchless solutions, we also are seeing a change in the types of products breaking into the vending industry.
Some products, like Shamrock Farms Rockin’ Protein drink, are typically found in drink coolers and aren’t consider innovative. However, the way Shamrock Farms is promoting its new product leaves room for operators and brands to rethink promoting products.
Girl Scout cookies are a seasonal favorite, but the pandemic left the scouts scrambling for a safe way to sell their products. One creative troop set up their own vending machine to sell cookies. Though selling cookies in a vending machine isn’t very original, but the next generation is learning how vending machines and the vending industry can offer more ways to reach consumers.
Consumables aren’t the only products seeing the inside of a vending machine. Car Keys Express is a new automated vending machine that can create copies of automotive and residential keys instantly. Jewelry designer, Marla Aaron, also used vending machines in her latest campaign on February 14th to attach the growing hunger and economic crises, dispensing gift-wrapped products.
And as St. Patrick’s Day approaches, it’s only fitting that a beer vending machine is popping up. Three students from the Netherlands created The Bierport in hopes to minimize queues at bars, ease bartenders' work, as well as the waiting time for event-goers.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
All over the country, vending machines are selling at-home tests for COVID-19 and are playing an integral part in not only getting people tested but also limited the contact of infected persons.
At the University of California San Diego, COVID-19 test kit vending machines’ self-administered tests are the primary method for screening among students. Ten vending machines were installed across their campus and have plans to install nine more. According to the school, they administer up to 2,000 tests per day.
Vending is also impacting those who give back to the country. Military.com reported that starting a vending machine business can be the perfect side gig for transitioning veterans, helping them transition from the military and lead them to financial independence.
With these thoughts in mind, vending machine businesses and operators should turn towards innovation to be successful in 2021. Whether you innovate the products you sell or the technology selling them, there is room to expand your vending business.
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