Because it offers flexible working hours and can be scaled up or down to suit your needs, the vending machine industry is particularly alluring to entrepreneurs. Additionally, it makes it possible for a business to draw in a large number of entrepreneurs. Currently, there are around 1.8 million vending machines in the US, with more than 13.3 billion dollars in yearly sales. However, it takes work to make those vending machines earn money while you sleep. The right location is the first step in setting up a successful vending machine business. Vending machines left unattended cannot make money. What you need to know about picking a profitable location if you’re thinking about launching a vending machine business.
Can you Put the Vending Machine Anywhere?
Technically speaking, you can place vending machines anywhere, but it’s not that simple. First of all, you cannot legally place the machine on others’ property and use its utilities without others’ permission or contract. Secondly, not every place is suitable for vending machines. What’s the use of leaving the vending machine idle without passers-by? When starting or expanding the vending business, it is important to find the most profitable potential location.
Advantages of having vending machines
Is it suitable for you to open a vending machine company? Some features that attract entrepreneurs to enter such enterprises include:
- Low start-up costs – generally, vending machines can be financed. You may not need any equipment other than computers, printers, and telephones that manage your business and vehicles that provide services for routes.
- Make your own schedule flexibly – generally speaking, you are free to purchase and collect goods for vending machines as long as it is appropriate.
- Be able to easily change product choices – for example, suppose you have a fast-food machine, and a certain flavor of Doritos doesn’t sell well. You can quickly decide to replace the product with different flavors or completely different snacks.
- Control growth – you can set the speed at which you want your business to grow. With the gradual expansion of vending machine business, some business owners still retain their “daily work”. When time and finance allow, you can choose to add machines to your route when you are ready to expand.
- Simplicity – after you sign a contract with the business location and place the machine, running the vending machine business will not be too complicated. You must maintain your machine, keep it in good working condition, restock it as needed, and collect money from your machine. Of course, you also have administrative responsibilities, such as recording your financial transactions, reporting and tax payment, and dealing with any customer related problems.
Where Can I Put the Vending Machine?
You can place vending machines in many places, including offices, schools, hospitals and warehouses.
- Office space
- School
- Hospital
- Market
- Airport
- Train station
- Warehouse
- Distribution Centre
- Machinist
- Shop
- Hotel
- Supermarket
How to Choose Profitable Vending Machine Location?
In the vending machine industry, just like in the real estate market, success lies in location, location, location. A profitable enterprise starts from choosing the right place, which involves some research and legal work to evaluate traffic, study your competitors, and obtain the permission of the owner.
Traffic
Without someone, you can’t have a profitable vending machine business. Pedestrian traffic is a key factor in the success of vending machines. Remember, vending machine purchases are usually divided into two categories – impulse purchases or habitual purchases. People either grab something when they need to pick me up quickly, and a snack catches their eyes, or they form the habit of buying things from the machines they see every day, such as in the work lounge, school, apartment or apartment building.
Jurisdiction
It would be ideal if you could insert a vending machine wherever you found it and start making money. However, you do need the owner’s permission and contract to place your machine.
In some cases, signing a contract is easy, while in other cases, you need to experience many difficulties. In many cases, business owners also hope to obtain a certain proportion of profits from the profits of machines to offset the cost of their utilities and create some passive income for themselves.
Outdoor and Indoor
It is a good idea to consider placing vending machines outdoors and indoors. On the one hand, if you provide drinks, outdoor may be a good idea, because people may want to drink water outdoors. On the other hand, if you put your machine in a remote outdoor location that people don’t often go, your investment is at risk of loss. If you decide to go to an indoor place, make sure it is a place that people often go. In addition, it is best to ensure that there is no cheaper or more convenient food / drink nearby. For example, if you put the vending machine in an office building that provides food for employees, you may not make a significant profit!
Compete
Think about your competition with other food and beverage suppliers. For example, are there any other snack and beverage suppliers nearby? If so, you will want to provide a competitive advantage over these suppliers. You can price the goods on the vending machine lower than other snacks and beverages available in the region. If there are other vending machines nearby, you can consider their product choices, terms, payment options and prices. For example, if you place an updated vending machine that provides exciting options and allows cashless payment, you may win more customers than other machines nearby.
Locate the Best Business Type of Vending Machine
To ensure the best location of the vending machine, the next step is to consider the type of enterprise you want to place the vending machine in. Some business locations are certainly more strategic than others. You want to choose businesses that naturally generate buyers’ interest (i.e. places that do not provide food), and there is a large amount of pedestrian traffic every day.
You can’t put the vending machine anywhere without permission! Most places will require you to comply with state and local vending laws. You usually need to sign a contract with the owner. When doing research, be sure to read state and local vending laws carefully.
Look at our list of ideal business types and find your vending machine.
Car Shop
The most popular place for vending machines is car repair shops. This is because customers often wait on site to complete the work of the vehicle. You can choose to get an iced coke from the vending machine, plus a TV and free WiFi, which makes waiting easier to endure.
One of the most important factors to consider is the location of the vending machine on your property. It needs to be placed in a place where the largest number of people can see it in order to generate the sales required by your vending machine company to maintain its services.
Hospitals or Medical Facilities
Most medical institutions have waiting rooms where patients and their families can wait for a long time. Especially in hospitals, many food and beverage suppliers will be closed at night, but people will be in the waiting room 24 hours a day. Adding vending machines in the waiting room may be a good location. However, please remember that you need to get permission from a medical institution before placing the vending machine there.
Indoor or Outdoor Shopping Center
Many people stay in indoor or outdoor shopping malls all day and eventually want a snack or drink. Although there are often food squares in shopping malls, your vending machine can stimulate people’s interest and make them only want something fast and convenient. Also remember that many people are not willing to pay for food. In addition, retail store employees may also use vending machines on a regular basis.
Schools and Universities
School is a good place for vending machines, because children often want snacks when they go to school! Whether children want to have a snack or drink during recess, or don’t have time for a full meal in college, you may attract the interest of students in school. Consider adding machines in cafeterias, lounges, or outdoor areas, or near school entrances / exits.
Gym and Fitness Center
Many times, people forget to bring water bottles on the way to exercise! Others may feel hungry after completing training. Adding vending machines in the fitness center lobby is a very strategic work, especially if you add fitness oriented products. Consider putting some water, sports drinks, healthy snacks and protein bars in your machine.
Apartment Building
Apartment buildings (especially large apartment buildings) are places that contain a large number of residents, and usually do not provide food choices! Adding 24-hour vending machines on site may be the key. When residents come in and out of the building, when restaurants close, or when they don’t want to buy snacks or drinks, they will use your vending machine. Consider placing the machine near public areas, building entrances and exits, or near gyms, swimming pools, or laundries.
Public Park
Parks and recreation areas are good places to make money from the sale of vending machines. Sports cold drinks are particularly attractive for people who often exercise in these areas to maintain physical activity. You may need to get special permission from any city that owns the park, but ultimately, any additional effort required to ensure resettlement in public parks is worth it.
Laundromat
When people don’t have on-site laundry in their place of residence, they usually have to use the local Laundromat. Laundry is a place where people wait while washing / drying clothes, which makes people feel bored! In addition, most people who use the laundromat spend more than an hour there every week. This may be a good location for your vending machine, because it can attract both habitual buyers or impulsive buyers.
Hotel / Motel
This is another great place where people often look for vending machines. Tired travelers stop to rest, unwilling to venture into an unknown area, and they will be excited to see an adequately stocked vending machine.
If you decide to invest, these are just some general ideas for placing vending machines. If you want to know more about how to start using vending machines, please contact Robinson’s vending machines, check out the various vending machines we provide, and learn more about how to make money from renting vending machines.
Are you interested in vending machines? Read More about this kind of machine in the following post!
