Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash
A new report from the European Vending and Coffee Service Association (EVA) has revealed working from home as the main threat to the industry and highlights cashless payments as one of the key opportunities.
The release of the report, which examines the economic situation as it affects vending and OCS, was announced at the recent launch of the Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub.
Following the publication of two EVA reports on the COVID-19 impact on the industry last year, the new report also draws on survey responses from both vending operators and suppliers (such as manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, payment solution providers etc) to a range of questions in relation to the recent economic landscape as well as business expectations for the rest of this year and 2022.
It is published as a combined European report of all the responses, as well as five individual country reports (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) with responses from those markets specifically.
The findings demonstrate that both operators and suppliers see working from home as the main threat for the industry, while key opportunities indicated include cashless payments.
Other interesting findings include:
• More than half of operators (56%) declared a reduction in turnover in 2020 of between 21-40%.
• In 2022, 37% of the suppliers expect growth compared to 2019.
• 91% of operators are impacted by people working from home while 76% of suppliers are affected by reduced orders.
• The scale of business investments appears to be flexible with 30% operators and 23% of suppliers planning an investment based on sales performances for this year.
As COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease throughout Europe, companies are consequently reporting fewer machine/site access issues or closures (some of the big issues reported in 2020), but rather supply chain difficulties, changing demands, and reduced orders from clients are some of the main challenges this year for suppliers.
With regards to opportunities, 66% of operators plan to adapt their machines by providing cashless payment options at their machines by the end of 2021, a significant figure which aims to meet new consumer demands.
EVA members have free and full access to the report and can request it directly via the EVA secretariat at vending@vending-europe.eu
