The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) announced the schedule for “The Gratitude Tour” this fall, the traveling exhibit is designed to say “thank you” to loyal users of vending, especially Generation Y users, who were shown in recent research to prefer vending over convenience stores and grocery/drug stores for snacks and cold beverages. Thousands of free products will be given away at the events.
The Gratitude Tour will visit seven cities in 2011, according to the following schedule:
- Sept.12: Boston, Mass., Prudential Plaza, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sept. 15: New York, N.Y., South Street Seaport, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sept. 22: Atlanta, Ga., Centennial Park, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sept. 27: Austin, Texas, 2nd and Congress, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Oct. 5: Phoenix, Ariz., Westgate City Center, Glendale, Ariz., 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Oct. 11: Minneapolis, Minn., Peavey Plaza, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Oct. 13: Madison, Wis., Union South, University of Wisconsin, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact NAMA at 312-346-0370; www.vending.org.
Editor’s Insight: Vending operators within travel distance of these tours should make it a point to visit them and see first hand how today’s consumers feel about state-of-the-art vending machines. The vending industry is changing quickly and operators need to understand that today’s consumer is very different than yesterday’s.
This “gratitude tour” is designed to better acquaint consumers with vending. But vending operators should realize it also gives them an opportunity, perhaps the best opportunity they’ll ever have, to learn first-hand how consumers today interact with vending machines. 08-31-11 by Elliot Maras
