2022 REVIEW Vending – a year in review
The restrictions of the pandemic have seen the vending industry evolve and adapt to new trends in business and consumer demand. While many of these appear to be here to stay VI takes the opportunity to recap of all the year’s hot topics and developments.
F
rom payment systems driven by a growing demand for cashless/contactless to the rise of micro markets, the following is a breakdown of what the vending experts had to say
throughout the year.
At the beginning of the year the Vending & Automated Retail Association reported there were more than 30 pieces of legislation in progress which impacted the vending industry. The latest from the AVA on single use cup levies is that each of the Home Countries are in the process of reviewing the need, or how to implement, a ‘consumer point of purchase’ levy (around 20p-25p) per cup as part of environmental or packaging legislation. Meanwhile deposit return schemes are on the cards across the home countries, with Scotland driving towards and implementation date of 16 August 2023. In England and Northern Ireland the next stage of the consultation will take place before the end of the year while Wales is currently trialling a kerbside digital deposit return scheme which has boasted a 97% ‘engagement score’. The AVA has also urgently called on vending operators to make
sure their supplies are registered for any necessary payments under the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) to avoid falling liable if manufacturers don’t pay.
PAYMENT SYSTEMS Vending went through a major contactless evolution as a direct result of COVID-19, meaning the majority of machines are now equipped with some form of cash free payment. This is considered to be a clean and safe method that requires minimal staff intervention and reduces many of the manual tasks that were required to support a cash-led setup. It was reported that as of February 2022, contactless transactions had seen a 72.1% increase year over year for debit cards and a 109.4% increase for credit cards. Payment system specialists are now developing new ways to take things further to show that contactless is not just a faster transaction but can also be used to incentivise spending with loyalty and promotions and bring vending machines back into the mainstream of catering options.
As well as the rise in contactless card payments, there was also
an growth in mobile phone payments. Research shows that phone payments rose by 27% in the three years leading up to 2022 – a trend that is likely to continuing to rise in coming years, as more people choose to rely more on their smartphone for payments and passes.
DISPOSABLES & RECYCLING The last year has brought about significant changes to consumer behaviours and all industries have had to adapt and evolve in order to meet new demands and routes of access. The vending industry is no exception.
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SNACKS & CONFECTIONERY According to the ingredient specialist RM Curtis snacking is a major area of growth in the UK, with 66% of adults snacking at least once a day and it is healthier snacking which is the key driver of this – a trend that is set to continue. The rise of on-the-go snacking naturally fell during lockdown and periods of restriction during the pandemic. However, the pandemic has increasingly pushed consumers to review their healthy habits. Trends show consumers wanting functional benefits and healthy
alternatives for their snacks. The consumer is paying attention to what they consume and is increasingly keen for guilt-free natural snacking solutions. With the arrival of the HFSS guidelines (referring to foods that a high in fat, salt and sugar) manufacturers have also started to make significant investment in developing ranges that are non-HFSS.
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