Watch The Real Thing

Coca-Cola will introduce a new POP vending machine this fall that has been developed in concert with Maytag Corp. The Glass Front Vender will permit consumers to watch as the drink they've selected is retrieved vi an elevator retrieval device and conveyed through the machine to the delivery portal. Allactivity is visible through the vender's clear front panel.

Each vender will offer up to 45 different product selections – a variety of containers including 12-ounce cans, 16-ounce PET and glass bottles and 20-ounce PET bottles, including sport caps. Coke maintains that the new machine will inventory and vend more 20-ounce PET bottles than conventional venders do. The vender also contains a marketing ad panel and point-of-sale window for enhanced merchandising opportunities, and expansion slots for technical peripherals such as debit/credit card systems and coupon dispensers.

Research conducted by Maytag suggest that sales through the Glass Front Vender in market tests increased by more than 50 percent over traditional venders. According to Maytag, three key factors seem to drive increased sales volume: increased variety of carbonated and non-carbonated brands, upselling to larger package sizes, and better merchandising of brands due to enhanced visibility.

Coca-Cola's research shows that up to 50 percent of vender purchases are made on impulse, with product selection crucial to sales. Consumers tested cited brand variety (“it has the brand I want”) as the main reason they visit a particular vender. During matched panel tests with controls, approximately 98 percent of the control group indicated they would definitely/probably make a purchase from the Glass Front Vender.