INDUSTRY INSIGHT


Three trends that are impacting the UK vending industry


W


ith the end of 2024 fast approaching, many vending operators are beginning to anticipate relevant trends for 2025.


Notably, there is still hesitancy from many UK residents to go completely cashless. In 2021, cash was the second most common method of payment used by consumers, accounting for 15 per cent of all payments in the U.K. There are two reasons for this: 1. About 2.8 million people in the U.K. are currently unbanked and can only pay for things in cash.


2. The average price for a cup of coffee in the United Kingdom is around 36 pence; most consumers are not willing to use a card to pay for that small of a price. But generational and technological trends are shifting away from


cash. And in the vending industry, many operators recognise the value of cashless solutions and are slowly adapting their businesses accordingly. These three trends will impact the vending industry throughout the remainder of the year and into 2025:


CONSUMER BEHAVIOR WILL DRIVE ADOPTION OF CASHLESS TECHNOLOGY Younger generations are pushing for more self-service experiences, healthier diets and more sustainability across all sectors. This, alongside the introduction of cashless technology, is forcing vending operators to think about how to deliver a more modern vending experience. As Shaun Burger, Managing Director of EMEA notes, “people are paying more attention to what they are putting in their baskets.” Therefore, operators need a better understanding of what their customers want and what they’re buying. They can do this with data provided by cashless vending technology.


LARGER ORGANISATIONS WILL START TO ADOPT NEWER CASHLESS TECHNOLOGY “In the future, I think we’re going to see some of these larger organisations like Coca-Cola or Lavazza at the forefront, pushing technology into the industry,” says Burger.


When it comes to vetting new technology, smaller vending


operators typically take a more conservative approach to adoption. On the other hand, larger organisations and operators can afford to invest money into technology and push it out far quicker. That allows growing operators to see what’s working and what’s not, and they’ll be more inclined to align with cashless trends, too.


TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IS KEY According to Burger, eighty percent of vending machines in the United Kingdom are now connected and, in order to connect newer payment systems to older ones, many operators are refurbishing legacy equipment pieces. However, Burger is concerned that despite the high percentage of connected machines, operators do not have a thorough education on how to maximise their connected machines. “Choosing a technological player in the marketplace that can actually provide the advice and guidance, as far as this from an overall perspective is concerned, is key,” he says. “From a Cantaloupe point of view, [our] technology typically is designed and developed to support vending operators to have more management control over what they actually supply into the different segments of the market that they supply to.” After the adoption of cashless payment technology, it will become


imperative for vending operators to get educated on the data they’re collecting from their connected devices. Knowing how to leverage that data into business insights will allow operators to make more informed decisions with regards to consumer preferences, merchandising decisions, and more. Cantaloupe is committed to helping vending operators understand


the state of the vending industry and educating them on how cashless solutions can help their businesses become more successful. To learn more about how Cantaloupe’s cashless vending approaches can help you simplify your business and increase your revenue, contact us today. Anything we can add here to reiterate Shaun’s quote? Maybe just summarizing the point: When the big guys adopt and test new technology, the smaller guys will jump onto it faster. You don’t want to be left out.


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