Advertisers and vending operators have combined their respective resources to come up with new opportunities for the vending machine. They can now increase their value and revenue by adopting digital signage. Not only does digital signage bring in more customers, but it also generates advertising income, a new revenue stream. There are numerous ways that digital signage is benefiting vending machines, as follows:
- An increase in sales - When a customer stops by a vending machine, they are usually ready to buy something. With electronic signs, you have an effective way of communicating to your client right at the point of purchase. You can take advantage of your animated screens that use sound and motion to grab the attention of the person and promote a product. This means that you can quickly up sell or cross sell- thereby increasing your sales. Since you are well able to program your screen to provide up-sell options, you are also able to increase the size of your average transaction.
- An increase in revenue - Advertisers spend money on TV ads, and even pay for shelf space in a grocery store, which means they are also willing to pay to have their ads running on vending machines. As a vending operator, you can increase your revenue because you can begin selling advertising space to manufacturers and advertisers. It is a great platform that businesses can use to engage their audience. Using QR codes, the advertiser or the operator can track the performance of the machine. They may simply have to offer a coupon that can be downloaded using the QR code and followed.
- Ambiance - Older vending machines were big and rather obnoxious. As such, they were limited to high-end establishments. Today, they come equipped with digital signage displays and touch screens that are interactive. The content on the screen tends to be both, attractive and engaging. Since the world has gone digital, these vending machines fit just about anywhere.
- Flexibility - Traditional signage was static and did not provide any room for customization or flexibility. With digital signage over traditional vending machines, you have this ability. Since there is a shelf life to all content, businesses have to change the poster on their traditional vending machine from time to time, which is both time consuming and expensive. With digital signage, this cost is eliminated. You can directly customize as needed and make immediate changes as information becomes outdated. You also have lots of other opportunities for engagement with a digital program. Since it is interactive, you can tailor it to the users you have.
- Enhanced customer engagement - Perhaps the most significant of all the advantages of digital signage is how they can engage the younger generations who prefer to have digital experiences. Millennials who make up 25% of the population today have a mass buying power of $200 billion. They value two things the most: digital experience and customization. With digital signage, you are able to customize the content being displayed, based on the targeted audience. The screens also make it easy for the user to navigate the available menu, see what their options are and then select any customizations they need to meet specific preferences.
With digital signage, your advertising will be more interactive than it has ever been in the past. It is also a visually satisfying experience with vibrant graphics and promotions that are interactive. Given text and graphics with motion, human prefer the latter. As such, we tend to gravitate to and spend more time at a vending machine that is interactive.
Vending machines are also becoming more intelligent They are made to detect individual viewers and respond to their needs quickly. This feature heightens the engagement of consumers. The way this has been done is by programming the digital signage so as it displays a particular bit of information or content that has been triggered by the purchase made.
- Creating experiences - Companies that are thinking further ahead are taking the idea of experiential marketing quicker. For example, Pepsi had a vending machine called ‘The Pepsi Like Machine,' which accepted Facebook Likes instead of money. Once you liked their Facebook page, you got a Pepsi at no cost. To log on to Facebook, there was a 42- inch digital signage screen. This experience was very memorable, and Pepsi was able to collect plenty of data from that one small experiment.
- Local - In the food industry, this is buzzworthy. Local micro market and vending operators can use the digital screen to run a variety of local news items. Targeting a micro market includes various types of information such as an art exhibition downtown or real-time updates on how the local high school's football game. Companies may also want to display internal news or announcements or on behalf of the community for group events such as blood drives, or marathons. One of the most favorite items to show on a screen is either current weather or weekly forecast, as most people are interested in knowing this.
Digital signage is taking the world by storm and any vendor looking to increase sales, will eventually want to take this route. The technology is evolving, and the marketplace is still wide open. Additionally, corporations can make use of the screens by passing on information about their company to an audience who may enjoy their services or products. This specific way of targeting communication is also an excellent way to carry out some polling and get customer feedback from those who frequent your office or other establishments.
Millennials who live in a technology filled world will find an organization with digital signage quite forward thinking. Considering that Millennials have a $200 billion collective buying power, targeting this particular client may not be a bad idea at all. If you have not considered replacing your old vending machines with digital signage vending machines, hopefully, this article has given you reasons as to why you should.