NAMA Los Angeles (Post-Show) + the 2024–2025 Census: growth is real, but the category is changing The NAMA show in Los Angeles is now in the books—and the 2024–2025 State of Convenience Services Census is out. Together, they confirm what operators already feel day-to-day: This is no longer “just vending.” It’s becoming a distributed network of self-service retail… Read More »
NAMA 2026 Preview — Vending Becomes the Backbone of Unattended Retail NAMA (thenamashow.org) continues to evolve from a traditional vending show into unattended retail, payments, and automated commerce. If NRF is front-of-house retail theater and HIMSS is clinical workflow, NAMA is where real-world monetization infrastructure gets built. Date: April 22-24 Location: Los Angeles This year’s show reinforces a… Read More »
How Vending is Driving Electronic Payments The unattended retail sector—spanning vending machines, micro markets, and smart stores—has rapidly evolved into a sophisticated, high-value retail channel powered by digital payments and automation. In vending automation, the big majority of cash payments are for small dollar items. And that is where the change is coming. Cashless payments removed the industry’s… Read More »
Service and Vending Much has been reported about new capabilities of self service equipment thanks to technology, but when it comes to vending, one maxim has never changed since the time Hero of Tesibus is believed to have invented a coin-operated machine to dispense sacrificial water in ancient Egypt: Service makes the difference. In vending industry parlance, “service”… Read More »
24-Hour Vending Machine (6 Days A Week) Noted — Chick-fil-A has launched its first food vending machine at Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, located inside the hospital’s “F entrance.” This marks an innovation in Chick-fil-A’s service delivery, aiming to provide quick, convenient access to its food, particularly in a hospital setting where traditional dining options can… Read More »
Vending Kiosks and AI Anthropic’s AI vending test draws boos, but tech evolution will bring change. Wonderful article and insight by Elliot Maras on Retail Automation — Will AI replace traditional vending businesses? A recent blog on this topic by Anthropic, a San Francisco based AI systems provider and researcher, has sparked a harsh riposte from the business and… Read More »
365 Retail Markets Buys Cantaloupe From RetailSystems June 2025 — Cantaloupe, Inc., a prominent player in the vending and payment solutions industry, has announced its acquisition by 365 Retail Markets in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $848 million. This strategic move is expected to enhance growth opportunities for both companies. Key Details Terms: Cantaloupe shareholders will receive $11.20 per share, representing a 34%… Read More »
Don’t miss NAMA 2025 May 7-9: Convenience Service Delivered Editor’s Note: Be sure and visit Crane CPI in #2331, DPL Wireless in #1874, Actineon in 2067, and Pyramid in 2249 while at the show. Zhilai is in 2640 (pizza vending machine). 365 Markets has a HUGE booth. By Elliot Maras Keeping up with today’s technology-savvy consumer is not… Read More »
Vending Show NAMA The NAMA Show May 7-9 Vegas is vital to the vending industry for several reasons: Innovation and Technology: The show features the latest advancements in vending machines, micro-markets, coffee services, and pantry services. It highlights innovations such as digital payment systems and data analytics tools that enhance consumer convenience and operational efficiency12. Networking and Partnerships:… Read More »
Book Vending Machines Book vending machines are innovative devices designed to dispense books instead of traditional vending machine items like snacks or drinks. They have become popular tools for promoting literacy and encouraging reading, particularly in educational settings. We asked one of our vetted members in China for what they quote. This company also builds Amazon Hubs, Sams… Read More »
Food Vending Via RFiD and RedyRef In food vending RFiD news RedyRef announces new Smart Vending Fridge deployment. This is not their first foray into vending and RFiD. See page on RedyRef. Meanwhile, RFID technology in these smart vending machines offers several benefits, including: Real-time inventory monitoring Enhanced operational efficiency Improved accuracy in tracking products Faster transactions and… Read More »
Buc-ees, DIA and Vending Market – Newsbit January 4 Buc-ee’s Removes Self Order Kiosks It looks like the self-ordering kiosks at Buc-ee’s have recently disappeared from locations across the country, which has sparked quite a bit of discussion! We reached out to officials at Buc-ee’s on the disappearance of the self-ordering kiosks, a media coordinator for the company simply responded “No comment”… Read More »
Smart Vending Machines Getting Smarter Guest Columnist on Vending and the new Smart Vending. Carl Goodwin is a technical expert in multiple areas: Smart vending, health, oil/gas, retail, gov, biotech, telecoms, R&D, AI, ML. Based in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada Supporting Member: Intel — nice whitepaper on Smart Vending What happens when a traditional vending machine is equipped… Read More »
Vending Machines Ammo Selling ammo in grocery stores??? What’s more crucial in retail — profits, or revenue? This is the chicken/egg struggle that retailers have precariously balanced for decades. Obviously, you can’t have one without the other. Until recently, grocery retail has erred on the side of the customer when exploring ideas. But this past year has seen… Read More »
Farmer’s Fridge Robotics Vending Machine A look at robotic food vending — From Retail Systems. Nice robotic vending for food by Farmers Fridge. Homepage | Farmer’s Fridge Fresh, Convenient Meals Whether you’re an organization looking to feed your people or looking for a simple way to eat well, we’ve got you covered with ready-to-eat meals. Learn About Fridges Purchase With Purpose We’re thrilled to… Read More »
Cannabis Vending Machine in Aurora Feb 20, 2023 [Presidents Day] — Colorado is home to a first-of-its-kind cannabis digital vending kiosk. The machine currently only takes cash, but later versions will offer digital pay services. There are not immediate plans to take debit/credit because of banking laws. The Safe Banking Act by representative Perlmutter did not get passed. Update on SBA. From… Read More »
Carvana Vending Machine – What Went Wrong Update 2/25/2025 Carvana Vending Machine Resurgence Carvana has experienced significant success and growth over the past 12 months, achieving several notable milestones: Financial Performance — Record Revenue: Carvana reported total revenue of $13.67 billion for the full year 2024, representing a 27% increase year-over-year14. Profitability: The company achieved its first-ever annual… Read More »
Facial Payment Kiosk Vending From SportsTechie — TendedBar, the automated cocktail machine that uses facial recognition to process drink orders, will be implemented at Empower Field at Mile High for Denver Broncos homes games this upcoming NFL season. The stadium began using TendedBar at concerts earlier this summer in partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment and will debut TendedBar’s new digital age verification tool for Saturday’s Red… Read More »
Restaurant Kiosk & Digital Signage & Vending Trade Show Are you looking for restaurant kiosk self-service technology? Here is our main NRA page and here is floorplan #8030 at NRA show — Order station kiosks, menu boards, digital signage, POS payment options including biometrics and facial, lockers for hot or cold, EV charging, outdoor drive thru menu boards,… Read More »
Gatwick Vending Kiosk From Evoke Creative — New self-service kiosks installed at Gatwick Airport rail station to improve the customer experience at this busy station. London, 28 June 2021 – Worldline [Euronext: WLN], the European leader in the payments and transactional services industry Worldline and Evoke Creative have combined their expertise in rail ticketing solutions and kiosk design… Read More »
From Kiosk.com Jun2020 We all know that returns are an essential part of the consumer journey, yet they can cause retailers some serious trouble to process. For instance, in-store returns are a great way to recapture lost revenue from returns, but processing them at the checkout can cause longer lines, create more work for staff and extend wait… Read More »
Excerpt from Canadian Vending magazine May 2020 — Kiosk sales are expected to accelerate post-pandemic, due to affordability of its footprint and sanitary interface, when compared to a crowded store. Take-Aways Kiosks are safer than dealing with people Vending machines sell tangible goods Customers like to customize orders, and preferably via machine than person. Business orders for self-service… Read More »
Vending kiosks for malls Vending CBD kiosks’ novelty might serve as an added attraction for shoppers, while short-term kiosk leases are low risk. Article published March 7, 2019 on National Real Estate Investor. Excerpt follows. — https://www.nreionline.com/retail/simon-property-group-s-cbd-kiosk-deal-smart-way-benefit-emerging-trend-experts-say Liz Wolf | Mar 07, 2019 Simon Property Group is introducing a new line-up of mall kiosks, which many might agree is not your… Read More »
SAN FRANCISCO, July 26, 2018 — Swyft, Inc. announced the strategic acquisition of Utique, Inc., a high-tech US automated retail technology company. The cash and equity transaction enables Swyft to deploy new technology into its platform and buil
Source: www.vendingmarketwatch.com
"Utique is a synergistic technology company that further adds functionality and efficiency into our automated retail product," said Lincoln Smith, Swyft’s VP Product & Marketing. "With the acquisition comes an exceptional user experience in high-end consumer retailing."
Utique was awarded the "Best New Airport Retail Concept in North America" by ACI, the "Gold Innovation Award for Best Store Design" by NAMA, and was named to McKinsey & Company’s "Ones to Watch in Retail" report.
The acquisition also strengthens Swyft’s growing portfolio of patented inventions by adding ten (10) granted US patents. Utique’s technology includes mechanical patents, a back-end management system patent and user experience and lighting patents. One patent builds on Swyft’s own filings for use of vending machines as distributed micro-warehouses for e-commerce delivery.
Asia’s Largest Vending Show CVS and the Official Satellite Show of EuroShop Debut ‘World of Retail’ Exhibition CVS and Subsidiary of Euroshop C-star Join Forces to Create an International Retail Exchange Platform with Over 200 Smart Retail Vendors, Offering One-stop Premium Retail Solutions Worldwide. The 15th China International Self-service, Kiosk and Vending Show (CVS) – the second largest in the… Read More »
The China International Vending Show 2018 is Now Ready to Showcase the Newest Self-service Technologies and Products to the World The China International Self-service, Kiosk and Vending Show (CVS) 2018 is the place to get all of the resources you require to achieve your business goals and to fulflil the needs of the entire convenience services industry. Update 2024 — Here… Read More »
A charity in the U.K. is trying to help homeless people by trialling vending machines that dispense essential items like food and clothing.
Source: www.digitaltrends.com
At present, the first machine is being tested in Nottingham, with a plan to expand to other major cities including Manchester, London, Birmingham, and Brighton next. “We’ll be installing machines in the United States from February 2018,” Khaled said. “New York will receive the first machine, and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle will follow. We’ve had a deluge of interest from many cities across America, and we’re working hard to reach as many people as possible. We’re also exploring locations across wider Europe.”
KAYSVILLE, UT -– OptConnect Managed Wireless Solutions said that in fewer than 18 months, 365 Retail Markets has connected more than 5,000 OptConnect cellular units in its micromarket applications across the U.S. Keysville, UT-based OptConnect’s wireless technology allows new devices to be deployed rapidly, without any need to connect to the location’s existing network connection. This helps to ensure a more reliable network with improved uptime and security without the IT hassle, or delays, accordin
Source: www.vendingtimes.com
“OptConnect has been a perfect companion offering to our micromarket hardware and software,” said 365 Retail Markets founder and chief executive Joe Hessling. “Hard-wired Internet connections are costly and a pain to setup and manage, with OptConnect Operators can be connected and operational in a matter of minutes, serving customers and making sales more quickly than ever before.”
Source: www.jpopforum.net
The case, titled Magee v. Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, was brought by Emmett Magee, a blind man from Louisiana who invoked the ADA in suing Coca Cola because its glass-front vending machines made it impossible for him to know what product he was choosing and at what price. He was thwarted buying soda from vending machines at a hospital and a bus station.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit turned away his claim, ruling that vending machines are “not a physical place open to public access” and therefore don’t fit the definition of “public accommodations” that are required to abide by the ADA. It also said that the hospital and the bus stations were public accommodations and “may very well” bear some responsibility to make vending machines on their premises accessible to the disabled.
Source: www.law.com
San Diego-based manufacturer to begin production of robots developed exclusively by Lancer Corporation SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwired – Jun 8, 2017) – Generation NEXT Franchise Brands (OTCQB: VEND ) announced today that on May 16, 2017, i
Source: www.vendingmarketwatch.com
Amazon Vending Machine Apple has Siri. Amazon has Alexa. This summer Tom Murn will have Vicki, a vending machine endowed with artificial intelligence that will be popping up in college cafeterias, drugstores, hospital waiting rooms and offices around town, and could change the way New Yorkers shop. Shaped like an iPhone but as big as a refrigerator, the… Read More »
MALVERN, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAT) (“USAT”), a payment technology provider of cashless and mobile transactions in self-serve retail, today announced that Sneaker Syndicate, a high-end athletic shoe boutique in Orlando, Florida, has launched a series of self-serve amusement kiosks that allow consumers to win sneakers, which leverage USAT’s ePort Connect® cashless payment systems. According to AnythingResearch, the… Read More »
Eastlake, Colo., January 9, 2017 – Just two years into the state’s experiment in marijuana legalization for recreational use, Colorado businesses are on track see more than $1.3 billion in revenue from the sale of weed and related products. That’s a whopping 30 percent higher than the $1 billion those businesses took in last year. One of the… Read More »
