In 2005/06, the total UK market for products bought from vending and automated sales machines was 4.3 billion.

That said, consumers shop according to product. Often, for bulky more expensive items, the retail outlet, offering a more traditional, personalised service is the preferred option. For smaller items including consumables however, the Internet or other marketing activity is the showroom, with people arriving at this ‘retail location’ knowing exactly what they want.

But this kind of ‘either/or’ approach to retail is not always conducive to optimising profit. Vending does not have to be a business’ primary or even secondary interest for it to be a viable means of maximising sales. Many DIY stores, supermarkets, hair salons, coffee shops, snack bars and gyms now have very profitable machines installed as an ‘add on’ service.

Take a visit to a hair salon, for instance. An exercise in self-indulgence, part of the experience is being offered a beverage of some kind to unwind with. I spoke to David Myerscough, managing director of Jordache Catering for Nicky Clarke, London. He said: “Our catering service is run as a separate business within the salon - we provide breakfast and light lunches along with drinks and snacks. We use a Starbuck’s coffee machine and as the only hair salon in London to do so, the exclusivity of the visitor experience is greatly enhanced.”

David has been providing this service to Nicky Clarke for 18 years and sees it as a vital part of the luxury service expected of a top brand. Though patrons are required to pay for their coffee, he quite rightly points out that when someone is spending £400 on their hair, finding a few extra pounds for a cup of coffee will rarely be perceived as a problem. In fact, most would rather pay for a good cup of coffee than have a dodgy one made free of charge by an assistant out the back, he added!

Jasper Conran, another regular haunt for welldressed celebrities and socialites, has a tabletop coffee machine installed in its fully fitted, staffonly kitchen. It offers branded coffee to shoppers to reinforce the sense of being looked after by the retailer.

It goes without saying that these ‘little extras’ are often what makes a customer come back, so the potential for new business along with the successful maintenance of an existing client base can be fully realised.

VENDING NOT FOR EVERYONE

I contacted the Head Office of Top Shop to find out if our favourite high street store also provided snacks and beverages via vending/table top drinks machines. A spokesperson said absolutely not, as this would be “…too off brand” for the chain. Hmmm… a certain snobbery does, it would seem, still exist in other industry sectors, as we discovered last month when discussing the matter with hotel managers. My source added that the Oxford Circus store had a café, where snacks and drinks were served in the traditional way to tired and hungry shoppers.

It’s fair to say that in this case, there is no value attributed to a vending machine, simply because the catering side of the business has been fully invested in and runs as separate entity. In a store where this kind of service does not exist there are enormous benefits to the ease and speed with which a drink and snack can be obtained on behalf of a customer. Also if a retail outlet does not have toilet facilities, it cannot have a café, so a vending machine is the perfect catering solution.

KEEPING CUSTOMERS IN-STORE

A retail source told me that half the battle for the retailer is keeping the man in the store whilst the wife or girlfriend is looking for a new outfit, for instance. “When a guy is impatiently pacing up and down the isles or waiting outside, more often than not the sale is not maximised, as the woman, feeling guilty, rushes to the check-out to avoid an argument outside afterwards!” My source insists that men need to be provided for, “…if they can sit and relax with a coffee, they won’t mind the wait nearly as much.”

House of Fraser, in Maidstone, Kent, has vending machines for its staff, but not for its customers. Instead there is a Caffè Nero placed on the first floor. A spokesperson told me that, not only is this a means of attending to the needs of the customer, it is also a very effective way of leading people who might only have shopped downstairs, up into the ‘home’ section. Whilst relaxing with a coffee, a so far very happy customer can look out onto the impressive displays of soft furnishings and candles etc, which will generate ideas for the home. This will often lead to a sale that, had it not been for the location of the café, may never have been made… The same could also be said of a well placed vending machine.

For years DIY stores, Garden Centres and Supermarkets have vended drinks and snacks. People like to grab a coffee or something to eat before or during the dreaded weekly shop. And parents like to be able to buy the kids something before or after a long trip to a DIY shore or Garden Centre, as it makes for a more peaceful shopping trip! This in turn is good for the retailer, as it keeps the customer in the shop longer, thus encouraging further purchases to be made.

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