Micro Markets

What is a micro market?

According to the most recent NAMA tradeshow, mini retail is a 7 billion dollar opportunity, which is about 17% of the vending market in the U.S. 5.1 billion of this is in a micro market.

You will soon see them in apartment complexes, retirement homes, frequent flyer clubs, and especially in the workplace.

A micro market is a small, self-contained store in a location without an employee to monitor it. It’s comprised of freestanding storage, such as shelves, that hold a product and a checkout system installed nearby. This means that there is no machine that vends the product, but the system is autonomous like a vending machine. Most micro markets are honor-system based and thus must be in a secure location, but there are new technologies such as pressure-sensitive shelves that record when product is taken off them. For a price, these technologies give vendors the option to use a more secure vending system.

Benefits of the micro market to the consumer

Convenience

Micro markets don’t need employees to work them and they are much smaller than an entire store, so they can be set up in locations where customers otherwise wouldn’t be able to easily purchase these goods, such as an office complex. In addition to this, since the system does not require a machine to vend the items, consumers can easily acquire the items they need. No more calling the vending company because their chips got stuck in the machine!

Variety

Related to the above, the system allows for items beyond food and beverages. Consumers can also purchase sundries, small electronics, travel gear, and much more.

Entertainment

Using a micro market is a novel experience, which may cause them to return or choose your micro market over a more conventional means of acquiring the same goods.