The Times Picayune in New Orleans, La. recently profiled Marc Whitener, owner of Norco, La.-based Refreshment Solutions, on how technology is changing the vending industry. For the full story, click here.
Editor’s Insight: Coca Cola Refreshment’s Tom Barlow makes an interesting prediction in this article: By 2015, half of all transactions will be done by mobile technology. This is four years from now. The vending industry has a lot to do in the next few years if mobile transactions rise to the level that Barlow predicts.
Many vending operators are not doing enough to prepare themselves for these changes. The Automatic Merchandiser State of the Vending Industry Report notes that technology investment rose in 2011, but it rose at a very slow rate. Meanwhile, competing retail channels are investing in mobile payment, cashless transactions and mobile marketing. 07-24-12 By Elliot Maras
