Micro Markets

How touchless options help operators survive the pandemic

Operators that have taken advantage of touchless solutions such as nanomarkets and mobile beacons are finding they are able to meet the current demand for touchless transactions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Image courtesy of iStock.

September 30, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Business continues to be slow in the convenience services industry, but operators who make the effort to listen to individual customer needs have a better chance of surviving. And those who are listening are finding that many customers want to reduce consumer touch points in their break rooms.

These were the key takeaways of a recent webinar, "Reinventing for a touchless operation," sponsored by the National Automatic Merchandising Association. A pair of veteran vending operators, Jodi Glimpse, co-owner of Camelback Vending in Phoenix, and Dan McKeever, owner of Snacks Plus Vending in Gwinner, North Dakota, discussed how they are keeping their businesses healthy in a challenging business climate.

Both operators have taken advantage of touchless solutions such as nanomarkets and mobile beacons, innovations that allow them to meet the current demand for touchless transactions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Customers: reduce touch points

Jim McKeever has found customers highly appreciative of tocuhless transaction solutions.

Both agreed that in many cases, customers are interested in reducing consumer touch points. While they agreed this is a trend, it is still important to involve the customer in any changes you want to make to the service.

One of McKeever's largest customers — a location with five micro markets — closed the micro markets and did not wish to reopen until a touchless solution could be provided.

"We swapped out every kiosk for a nanomarket, which created touchless transactions, which was wonderful," McKeever said. The nanomarket is a tablet based device where users can scan products and present the 365 Retail pay app or QR code to identify themselves and pay for their purchases.

"The customer actually got involved," McKeever said. The customer made brackets for the coolers so that people could open the coolers with their feet.

Customer interaction is especially important when introducing new technology, McKeever said. When introducing something new, it is important to educate the customers how to use it. When introducing touchless solutions, McKeever dedicated some team members to oversee the implementation in the customer locations.

Overall, he said his customers have been very grateful for the touchless solutions.

"We switched them all (to touchless) in the matter of a few months," he said.

The experience has led McKeever to believe that the demand for a kiosk will decrease as customers get more used to using the app.

Mobile beacons find a niche

Jodi Glimpse was surprised by how well customers reacted to beacons.

Glimpse was equally enthusiastic about the mobile beacons her company introduced two months ago, an experience she described as "fantastic." The beacon allows customers to use their smartphone to scan and pay for products in the machine via a Bluetooth connection to the company's customer app. The beacon allows the customer to use the machine without actually touching it.

When installing the beacons, the company posted signs on how to use them. "All it takes is once, and people get it," she said. "I think this (touchless) is the future of the industry."

"It really was an easy process for us to add that feature," she said. "Sometimes we underestimate how technically advanced our society has gotten."

Offering new technology also has a public relations benefit, Glimpse said. "It shows our current clientele that we're paying attention," she said. "This is a way to show people you are on the front end of the trends."

Asked if theft has been an issue with the new technology, Glimpse said it has not. She added that her own concern about potential shrinkage is what prevented her from adding micro markets until 2016, which was about a decade after the technology became available.

To discourage theft in certain locations, the company has placed surveillance cameras in the break areas. "It's just a little reminder that they're being watched," she said.

"It hasn't been an issue," she said. "If you put them in the right places, you aren't going to have any issues."

Touchless options expand

Jim Versical says payment apps are especially powerful in vending.

Jim Versical, sales manager at 365 Retail Markets, a micro market provider, reviewed the company's touchless technology options, which include solutions for micro markets, dining, office coffee service and vending.

When COVID-19 hit, 365 Retail Markets took a three-pronged approach, Versical said. First was promoting its mobile beacon.

The company encouraged operators to add the beacon to existing micro markets or open temporary pop-up shops and allowing customers to check out using the beacon, he said.

The company also enhanced its existing product line. A fast check-out feature was added to all company devices.

"No longer do consumers need to interact with a touchscreen to actually make a transaction," he said. Instead, they can scan the product and tap or swipe a credit card to automatically check out.

The company's more powerful tool, he said, is its customer pay app. The customer can check out by scanning the product and then scanning the app, which also eliminates the need to touch a vending machine or a kiosk.

One new product, the Pico Cooler, offers controlled access like a micro market but does not include a kiosk. Besides being mounted on a cooler, the device can also mount on a vending machine, which gives cashless capability to a vending machine that does not already offer a cashless reader.

The company also introduced its "o'rder ahead" solution for manual cafeteria services, Versical said. Consumers can view the menu on their app and check themselves out at the cafeteria service counter.

"Everything is contained inside the app," he said.

For locations with different points of sale, such as different vending machines, the user would see each option listed on their app. They can send a credit to any one of those touch points or grab a product and scan the barcode with their phone's camera.

"Consumers can actually place orders on the app without actually going down to the cafes," he said.

The app can be integrated with the existing point-of-sale software or used independently.

"All of our micro market technologies are touchless in nature," he said.

Since the start of COVID-19, app users have increased by 37%, with more than 50,000 daily users as of the end of July.
"People are more receptive to ordering things online," he said.

Last month, the company launched a touchless solution with Bunn coffee machines. The solution is powered by 365 beacon and the Bunn cloud.

"We're sending credits to the machine for exactly what the consumer pays for, and there is no interaction with the machine," he said.

And while touchless is growing, touch pay isn't going anywhere, according to Versical.

According to the company's data, 55% of its micro market users are paying with the fingerprint reader.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected convenience services, click here.

Images courtesy of the National Automatic Merchandising Association.