In “Every Day is a Winding Road,” Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow sings about “hitching a ride with a vending machine repairman.” She reminds listeners that, “everybody gets high, everybody gets low, these are the days when anything goes.” While the vending machine industry is experiencing its share of “highs and lows,” enhanced credit and debit card payment systems, cashless systems, machines with healthier foods and beverages, and more customizable options could help spur sluggish sales.
In the July 2019 “Vending Machine Operators in the US” report, Los Angeles-based IBISWorld notes the struggles that the industry has faced. “Over the five years to 2019, revenue is expected to decline at an annualized rate of 0.4 percent to $7.7 billion, including an anticipated 2.5 percent decrease in 2019 alone,” it states. “The revenue decline has been primarily attributed to dampened demand for industry products. As junk foods, such as soda and chips, typically make up the largest amount of industry revenue, the stagnancy in per capita soda consumption and increase in the healthy eating index have adversely affected industry sales.”