Myrtle Beach Sun News:
Vending machines are getting a lot smarter – and tougher to shake down.
Machines equipped with wireless, Web-based monitoring systems are not only helping the $20 billion American vending industry sell more products, they’re also helping to stop thieves.
“It’s an old industry with more of a new start, so to say,” said Mark Brenner, a Kansas City-area franchisee for Fresh Healthy Vending.
The technology couldn’t have come at a better time.
The recession and the huge unemployment numbers in 2009 resulted in the biggest one-year drop in vending sales to just under $20 billion from $22 billion in 2008, according to Automatic Merchandiser’s 2010 State of the Vending Industry Report.
Some operators have responded by increasing prices. But many have resorted to technology to keep a tighter control on inventory, saving unnecessary trips to stock machines and stopping theft from inside or outside sources.