Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com welcome article submissions
Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com are the leading media brands serving the convenience services industry. For more than 65 years, Automatic Merchandiser magazine and VendingMarketWatch.com have been where convenience services pros go to stay informed, inspired and ahead.
As part of serving this dynamic industry, we welcome article submissions from industry subject-matter experts, provided they focus on solutions specific to unattended retail in any of its forms, including vending, micro markets, office coffee service, pantry service, smart stores and markets, and more. The article should focus on providing insights for convenience services operators and can address the topic from a technology, equipment, product, or business-building perspective.
Getting started
Consider contributing an operator success story, a guest column, a case study, or a how-to article to share your expertise.
- There is no charge to submit a contributed article.
- Submitting a proposal or article does not guarantee publication. If you have an idea, feel free to reach out to Linda Becker, our head of content, before proceeding.
- Contributed articles should be original and non-promotional and should remain brand- and product-neutral.
- All contributed content must be first-run by Automatic Merchandiser and VendingMarketWatch.com. This means that articles or columns should not have already appeared elsewhere, even on the author’s own website.
- All writers will need to sign a writer’s agreement to be published. The agreement will be provided upon acceptance of the piece for publication.
- Each article will include a byline, author biography and photo, and a link to a related company, if desired.
- Submissions will be edited to conform to AP Style and internal style guidelines. If the editor makes significant edits, a revised document will be sent to the author for review before publishing.
- Approved content may appear in print, online, in newsletters, and/or in custom e-books.
What to write about
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Trends shaping convenience services, including vending, micro markets, office coffee service, smart marts and other unattended retail formats
- Technology use across payments, connected equipment, telemetry, refrigeration, coffee systems, security and theft detection, and data analytics
- Workplace and location dynamics, including return-to-office impacts, generational influences, and site-specific retail strategies
- Operational best practices related to efficiency, uptime, labor constraints, service models and route optimization
- Merchandising and assortment trends, including SKU proliferation, fresh food programs and changing consumer expectations
- Sustainability and resource management, including energy use, packaging considerations and waste reduction in unattended environments
- Equipment and infrastructure considerations, such as reliability, energy efficiency, performance standards and total cost of ownership
- Regulatory, compliance and risk considerations affecting refreshment services operations
- Industry fundamentals and beginner topics such as route efficiency, labor pressures and their impact on unattended retail design
- The convergence of convenience services with foodservice and retail technologies
You can also refer to the editorial calendar in our media kit for an overview of the topics we will cover in the print magazine throughout the year. We will consider articles that are not listed on the calendar if they’re relevant to our audience.
Content types
We welcome a range of contributed formats, from introductory explainers to advanced thought leadership. Here are some examples.
- Industry overviews and 101-level explainers
- Opinion, commentary or thought leadership on industry shifts and challenges or emerging trends and technologies
- Application-level insights explaining operational implications
- How-to and educational articles that clarify terminology, systems or trade-offs
- Future-focused analysis on where the industry is headed
What to submit
- Length: We suggest approximately 900 to 1,500 words, but the actual length depends on your subject.
- Author(s): Please include the author’s name, title and company name; a brief biography; a photo; and contact information, including phone number and email address.
- Photos: You or your company must own the rights to the submitted photos, or gain written permission to use them for publication and provide a photo credit for the photos. Photos (high resolution/300 dpi, or a minimum of 900 x 900 pixels, though larger is always better) should be emailed as attachments (JPG, PNG, TIFF or EPS format) or sent via a file-sharing platform such as DropBox or OneDrive. Photos embedded in text documents cannot be used.
- If you have an otherwise great article and no images, you may be able to work with the editor to use stock art. Please request this when submitting the article.
Sharing: Upon publication of the article on VendingMarketWatch.com, Automatic Merchandiser will provide the contributor a link to their article for sharing on websites and social media. All references to the article online should point directly to the published article on VendingMarketWatch.com.
Next steps
- Draft a brief abstract or proposal on the content type, topic and a bio for the contributor: what are their qualifications, professional background and current role?
- Confirm that the proposal is new and original content that has not been submitted to other architecture and design publications or websites.
- Email it to Linda Becker. Due to the volume of editorial proposals, please allow two business days before following up.
Connect with us
Still have a question? Reach out to Linda Becker, Head of Content, via email at [email protected] or call 262-203-9924.