Berg Insight has released a new market report covering the connected vending machine market. The global installed base of connected vending machines reached an estimated 1,51-million units in 2015. North America is estimated to represent around 800 000 of these machines, whereas the corresponding number for the European market is 200 000. The number of connected vending machines in other parts of the world totalled an estimated 510 000 units at the end of 2015, mainly in Japan and Australia.
Berg Insight forecasts that the number of connected machines worldwide will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18,7% to reach 3,6-million units by 2020.
As a result, the global penetration rate will reach 20,3% at the end of the forecast period. Leading solution providers include Crane, USA Technologies, Cantaloupe Systems and Nayax which all have more than 100 000 connected vending telemetry and cashless payment solutions each.
The connected vending machine market is currently affected by a number of trends that are foreseen to positively impact technology uptake and innovation among the solution vendors.
“The business case for vending telemetry continues to improve in line with technology advancements and decreasing costs of both equipment and connectivity services,” says Rickard Andersson, senior analyst at Berg Insight.
He adds that cashless payments is similarly a strong driver for adding connectivity in vending machines. Mobile wallet services can enable new opportunities beyond mere payments such as mobile-enabled advertising and marketing programs that can boost customer intimacy.
“Other recent developments in the unattended vending space include the growing popularity of so-called micro markets,” he adds. “As micro markets are expected to continue to grow at the expense of traditional vending machines, the vending telemetry and cashless payment solution providers will inevitably face a diminishing addressable market in their primary segment.
“This development on the other hand presents opportunities for innovative solution providers to also cater to the needs of micro market operations.
“Front-running players such as Cantaloupe Systems have already embraced this opportunity. “Other solution providers are expected to follow suit and increasingly serve the promising micro market segment in 2017 and beyond,” concludes Andersson.
