Importance Of Location In Vending Business

Finalizing on location is one of the crucial decisions in a vending business. Place or location is one of the important aspects of marketing mix (4 P’s) that influences the success or failure of a business. As we all know Vending business is a huge success in America. This has resulted in more and more operators taking up this business and hence finding a prime locality has become a major challenge.

Choice of location is also influenced by the product you vend and the customer segment you target at. Few points you need to take into consideration while choosing a location are:

Accessibility and visibility: These two aspects are very important while locating your vending machine. Both these factors help in creating more business and repetitive purchasing. Some potential places for locating your machine are near the entrance or exit of any shopping mall, next to water fountain, opposite a rest room, besides a coffee maker, near the reception, next to cash counter, near a music store, in a waiting area (petrol station) etc. The main aim here is to locate the machine in or near a place where there is some amount of customer waiting.

Another option while locating your machine is to place the machine indoor or outdoor. Each of these has its own merits and demerits. For instance: if you place your machine outdoor, customer will be able to access it 24 hours without any restrictions. But is it safe to place your machine outdoor? On the contrary, placing the machine indoor is definitely safe but, there are restrictions on timings. An operator needs to compare both the merits and demerits of each option before finalizing. Sometime the revenue generated by the business may dominate its demerits.

Operator should also be aware of the local and state regulations related to placement of machine. There are few states that do not allow vending machines to be placed outdoor. While few states require the vending machine to meet the standards set by National Automatic Merchandising Association. Hence, it would be advisable to check with the local regulations in order to have a thorough understanding about placement procedures.

You can also take advice of Planet Antares staff who can help you in choosing the right location. They have been in this business for over thirty years and have helped many business owners in starting a successful vending business.