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GETTING STARTED – DECIDING WHAT TO SELL

GETTING STARTED – DECIDING WHAT TO SELL

Welcome to the second blog in our Getting Started series! Today we will be talking about deciding what to sell. It can sometimes be a bit of a gamble with what you put in your machines. When you boil it down to its most basic form, you have two options:

  1. Put the most popular snacks in the machine
  2. Match the products to the location

 

Put the Most Popular Snacks in the Machine

This could be considered the easier option. Why? Because statistically, people are more likely to buy something they know they like rather than something they have never had before…at least if it comes from a vending machine. If you put the numbers together, the average single vending machine item costs almost double what it would be in a grocery or convenience store. Average consumers are inherently creatures of habit. The time for trying new things is when it is going to cost them the least amount of, well, everything. Time, energy, money, you name it.

What does this mean for sales? It means that you increase the likelihood of someone buying something from your machine if they have seen it, heard about it, or had it before. Consumers are drastically less likely to try a new health-fad protein bar if there is a familiar option instead. So. If you were to ask, “What is the most popular vending machine snack in the U.S.”, your answer would be, unsurprisingly, a candy bar. Snickers to be exact. The top three types of snacks you in the U.S. are as follows:

  1. Candy
  2. Chips
  3. Protein/Granola/Breakfast Bars

If your plan involves filling your machine with popular snacks, make sure to add some of these in there!

 

Try to Match the Products to the Locations

This can be significantly more difficult than the first option, especially if the location is unconventional. Gyms are pretty simple. You fill the machine with healthy options. Maybe some salads, protein bars, muscle milk, or protein shakes. The difficulty comes when you start entering locations like a doctor’s office. There are many types of doctors, specializing in many different areas. A dentist probably wouldn’t want candy in their office, while a pediatrician might not mind a few lollipops for the kids. Maybe they don’t want any food in their vending machine at all! It is these minuscule discrepancies that make this the more challenging option of the two.

There are benefits to this type of ‘product placement,’ however. In certain instances, a willingness to work within the ideals of the customer can create a better relationship with them. Working to fill a vending machine with products related to a business or practice shows that you care about the customers’ success as much as your own. This can be a great way to create long-lasting customers and places of business could be more likely to recommend your services to their peers.

 

At eVending, we are excited to be a part of your vending journey! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us via phone or our social media! Give us a call at 866-958-4501.