The installed base of connected vending machines reached 2.6 million units in 2017, said analyst firm Berg Insight in its IoT forecast.
North America has around 1.3 million connected vending machines, and the European market has 0.6 million.
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The number of connected vending machines in other parts of the world — mainly in Japan and Australia — touched 0.7 million units in 2017.
Berg Insight forecasts that the number of connected vending machines worldwide will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2 percent to reach 5.4 million units by 2022. As a result, the global penetration rate of connected vending machines will reach 32.2 percent at the end of the forecast period.
The global market for connected vending solutions is served by a variety of players. Many of the leading providers are specialised technology companies offering connected vending telemetry and cashless payment solutions.
“USA Technologies is following the acquisition of Cantaloupe Systems in 2017 become number one in terms of installed base,” said Rickard Andersson, senior analyst, Berg Insight.
The other leading technology suppliers include Ingenico Group, Nayax and Televend (INTIS).
Vianet Group, Vendon and Vendwatch Telematics are additional examples of technology players with relatively significant installed bases.
Numerous vending machine manufacturers are also active in the connected vending space, either directly by developing proprietary solutions in-house, or by partnering with established vending telemetry and cashless payment solution providers.
Crane holds one of the leading positions through Crane Connectivity Solutions with a total of 400,000 connected machines.
Berg Insight estimates that the connected vending machine space will be dominated by a few multinational players.
