Vending

Touchless solutions to the rescue for convenience services

365 Retail Markets, Newco Enterprises Inc. and Vendors Exchange International Inc. present touchless solutions for convenience services.

Smartphones and QR codes play a big role in touchless solutions for convenience services. Image courtesy of the Coca-Cola Co.

October 19, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

As people continue to exercise caution in their daily activities, contactless solutions have gained a new currency. Few industries can attest to this new reality as well as convenience services.

Fortunately, technology and equipment providers haven't been asleep at the wheel, as touchless solutions which leverage consumers' smartphones are now available for just about every convenience services application.

Last week's webinar, "Technologies for transforming to a touchless operation," hosted by the National Automatic Merchandising Association, made this abundantly clear, as presenters from 365 Retail Markets, Newco Enterprises Inc. and Vendors Exchange International Inc. described their latest solutions.

365 PicoCooler

Ryan McWhirter

The 365 PicoCooler from 365 Retail Markets allows consumers to use their smartphone to unlock a glassfront cooler, select and pay for items, then relock the cooler. A small kiosk containing a chip reader for near-field communication payment attaches to the front of the glass-front cooler.

"The Pico is actually a full fledged checkout kiosk much like the other devices that we have," said Ryan McWhirter, vice president of product management at 365 Retail Markets. "Operators are seeing PicoCooler as a value based way to sell products just like in a micro market with a different form factor without needing any counter space, without worrying about needing about acquiring Internet connection because of course Pico has cellular (connectivity) built into it."

Several of the cooler manufacturers that 365 Retail partners with have a kick plate on the bottom of the cooler to allow the consumer to open the cooler door without touching the handle.

The unit, which has a health timer and supports all 365 Retail Markets promotions, allows locations to offer food in a more socially distanced manner than a traditional micro market.

McWhirter said an operator can sell more expensive items in a PicoCoooler than a vending machine since the cooler does not have spirals. He also said there will be opportunities for the coolers to replace vending machines.

Newco touchless brewers

Luke Webster

Newco's newest brewers use QR codes to allow consumers to select their drinks with their smartphones, said Luke Webster, the company's director of business development. The consumer uses their smartphone to scan the QR code on the machine which takes the consumer to a "web app" that shows the drink menu and sees the same menu they will see on the machine touchscreen.

The consumer first places their cup on the machine's drip tray, points their smartphone camera at the QR code, views the menu displayed on the smartphone, chooses their drink, the size and the strength, then presses a button and another QR code appears on the phone. The consumer then shows the machine that QR code to activate the brewing of their selection.

"The phone will generate a new QR code that is specific to that drink," Webster said. "That is shown to the machine to brew that particular drink."

"Once they do that once, they can save that to their home screen on their phone, and it will show up like an app icon, so they won't need to scan it at the machine again," he said.

"You never [have] to touch the machine and the machine never needs to be connected to your phone or to the internet," he said.

For consumers who don't have phones, all they need is the QR code which they can scan on the machine.

The equipment does not have to be connected to the internet, and does not require a phone to connect to the equipment over Bluetooth, he said. There is no additional cost for the touchless capability which will be included on select brewers going forward.

Newco also designed a sanitizer dispenser and a touchless dry condiment dispenser using infrared and laser sensors to allow for motion activated dispensing, he said.

VE Touchless

Jim Coia

As for traditional vending machines, Vendors Exchange International Inc. has the upgrades.

VE Touchless can upgrade any machine with an iPhone or Android phone without connectivity, said Jim Coia, the company's vice president of marketing.

The consumer uses their mobile device camera to scan the QR code, which activates a link that opens a keypad display that matches the machine keypad, allowing the user to make a selection. They then pay using the machine's NFC reader.

"It's just a matter of simply pushing the buttons, just as you would on a keypad," Coia said. "Whatever you can do on the keypad, you can now do on the phone."

The connection runs on a private Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth connection between the machine and the user's phone.

"Because we're handling it in that way, there's no connectivity required," Coia said. "You don't have to add another telemeter to the machine, you don't have to add the additional monthly cost. It's simply closed loop between the user's phone and the machine, and you're up and running."

VE Touchless is also compatible with the VE Revision doors, VE Curve doors and machines upgraded with VE universal control boards.

"There's just a small board that gets plugged into our universal control board, and you're up and running," he said.

For machines without the UCBs, VE has a retrofit kit. "We're covering the whole gamut…so you can really make that bank of machines touchless," Coia said.

Meanwhile, VEI is integrating its technology with some third party apps in the industry, Coia said. Plans are in the works for integrations with companies that have apps that process payments.

The company will also be offering a foot pedal for VE Curve door that goes on the front of the machine.

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

Head shots: LinkedIn.