India has seen immense technological advancement in the past years, and one such invention is the vending machine.
With high-tech technology, people prefer using the latest gadgets that boost the vending machine business.
From metro stations to airports, from hotels to restaurants, and from college campuses to offices, these spaces are more prone to vending machines.
But when we specifically talk about the vending machine business in India, it is a small market.
The behavior and habits of Indians differ from that of people residing in the USA or Japan, where vending machines are a daily part of people’s lives.
Buying stuff from Kirana stores and shops is still prevalent in the country, which is a reason why there are problems incorporating a vending machine in people’s lives here.
Why Should You Adopt a Vending Machine?
Companies dealing in vending machines have started incorporating food that gives an experience of a home-cooked meal.
Some vending machine owners have started providing facilities to cloud kitchens, tiffin centers, and budding restaurants to showcase their food and reach a larger audience.
Besides that, there are many more reasons that vending machines will be a good adoption in India.
1. Convenience
Vending machines are very convenient to use. Within a matter of minutes, you can access your favorite snack or beverage.
There is no complex mechanism to be adopted, you are required to insert the money, enter the product code, and it will provide you with the product.
2. Increase in Productivity
People exhibit a more productive outcome when they are satisfied. Vending machines in educational institutions or workspaces help satisfy cravings between classes or work.
Vending machines provide healthy snacks and keep you full for a long time and give a boost to your energy.
3. Provides Numerous Options
Vending machines are of various types and deal in numerous products.
From junk food to healthy options, beverages to ice creams, you can get any snack of your preference and a variety of options to choose from.
4. Time Saving and Less Costly
Instant vending machines save time, when you feel hungry you don’t need to travel to a store to buy snacks you can easily access the nearest vending machine.
It buys you more time for other things.
When you visit a store to buy a snack, it not only takes time but also costs you fuel, and it often happens that we purchase unnecessary items.
Purchasing from a snacks vending machine, you just pay for the item you need without any extra costs.
Reasons Why Vending Machines are Not Popular in India
1. Handling Cash Can be a Difficult Task
Vending machines require straight and untorn banknotes and often return the ones with creases.
This leads to hindrance in the transaction.
These machines just accept notes with a smaller value, like they may accept banknotes of 10, 20, 50, and maybe 100 rupees, but they don’t accept banknotes of 500 or 2000 rupees.
2. Hypothesis About the Reduction in Jobs
Some people like to interact when buying a product, so replacing the attendants with a vending machine may develop a sense of disappointment.
The usage of vending machines also causes people to lose their jobs since there would be no attendants in stores and just vending machines. A large amount of the population may experience unemployment.
Reducing jobs also affects the livelihood of vendors and so is opposed by them. Here is a detailed article on hypothesis on vending machines.
3. Safety and Security Hazards in Collecting Cash
Vending machines require people to collect cash from them manually.
This can be a safety issue for the person handling the money, and burglars might try to rob or harm the person handling cash.
4. Costly Investment
Buying a vending machine means investing in an electronic device that is not under our control.
The initial investment requires a huge amount of capital, and due to lack of popularity, it happens that people are not willing to buy from a vending machine. It frequently happens that people are either not aware of the technology or do not want to change their habits.
This is one of the prominent reasons why people end up not using these machines. So the initial investment of starting up a vending machine business can also lead to losses due to less customer base.
Since this machine runs on electricity and software, the up-gradation costs, electricity bills, and repair costs are pretty high.
5. Slow Upgradation in the Software
Due to changes in the currency notes of a country, the machine’s software has to be duly updated to recognize the new currency bill.
Since many manufacturers provide either their own machine or lease it from someone, this may cause a long process to upgrade the system.
There are no prevalent companies that offer such tech solutions within the machine itself.
6. Risk of Burglary of Cash and the Machine
We already know the initial investment in a vending machine requires you to invest a considerable amount of capital.
These machines are not entirely safe from being robbed. People can either break into the vending machine and steal the money present inside or maybe steal the machine itself.
7. Ventilation and Temperature Management
The vending machine might exhibit issues if kept attached to the wall. It requires a proper ventilation passage between the wall and the machine. A little ventilation passage might be necessary in the case of a beverage or an ice cream vending machine since it provides a space for the gases to escape.
When we talk about maintaining the temperature inside a vending machine, it differs from product to product.
A snack vending machine may not require temperature control, but a vending machine selling soda or juice bottles asks for a low temperature to keep the bottles cold.
As discussed above, we see numerous reasons why vending machines are not popular in India. However, everything has both good and bad aspects, so now let’s take a look at the advantages vending machines provide and why India should start adopting them.
Final Thoughts
Obviously, vending machines are a boon for the human race, but everything comes with a few drawbacks.
Using a vending machine may be convenient for one but difficult for the other. In a country like India, where people love to interact with the buyer or the attendants in a shop, vending machines would face a hard time gaining popularity. It is a costly investment that requires regular maintenance and checks, thereby adding to the already high costs.
However, it has many benefits to it, especially the reduced costs once it’s installed. Moreover, people are taking interest in vending business these days.
So, while India still faces a hard time as regards the popularity of vending machines, they will become popular in quite a few years, hopefully!
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