Classifications of Vending Machines

Nov 30, 2022 Industry News

The emergence of vending machines has almost broken the business model of traditional supermarkets and opened up a new pattern of self-service vending. With the development of technologies such as mobile payment and smart terminals, the vending machine industry has undergone earth-shaking changes in recent years. The vending machines with different appearances and various types will make you confused. Today, I am going to talk about the most mainstream types of vending machines in China.

Vending machines classified by intelligence
According to the intelligence of vending machines, vending machines can be divided into traditional mechanical vending machines and intelligent vending machines.

The payment of traditional machines is relatively simple, and paper money and coins are mostly used. Therefore, the vending machine is equipped with a paper coin slot, which takes up space. When the user puts money into the coin slot, the currency recognizer will quickly recognize it. After the identification is done, the controller will provide the information about the products that can be sold to the user through the indicator light according to the amount, and the user can choose independently.

The biggest difference between traditional mechanical vending machines and intelligent vending machines is whether they have a smart brain (an operating system) and whether they can be connected to the Internet. Smart vending machines have many functions, and the principle is more complicated. Using an intelligent operating system combined with display screens and wireless access to the Internet, users can select the desired products through the display screen or on the WeChat applet, and use mobile payment to purchase, saving time. Moreover, by connecting the front-end consumption system with the back-end management system, operators can keep abreast of the machine's operating status, sales and inventory, and interact with consumers in real-time.

Because of the development of payment methods, the cash register system of smart vending machines has also developed from traditional banknote and coin to today's WeChat, Alipay, UnionPay QuickPass, customized payment (bus cards and student cards), bank cards, and face-swiping are available, while banknotes and coins are reserved. Multiple payment methods are compatible to meet the needs of consumers to the greatest extent and improve user experience.

Vending machines classified by functions
With the rise of new retail, the vending machine industry also develops. The vending machines have developed from selling beverages to fresh fruits, vegetables, electronic products, medicines, and daily necessities. According to the different products sold, vending machines can also be divided into vending machines for pure beverages, comprehensive vending machines for snacks, vending machines for fresh fruit and vegetable, vending machines for dairy, vending machines for daily necessities, vending machines for coffee, vending machines for customized goods, vending machines for sex toys, vending machines for special functions, vending machines for freshly squeezed orange juice, vending machines for box lunch and other types.

Of course, this classification is not very accurate, because most of the current vending machines can support the sale of many different commodities at the same time. However, there are also special-purpose vending machines such as vending machines for coffee and vending machines for ice cream. In addition, with time goes by and the development of technology, new selling items and their exclusive vending machines may appear.