Category Archives: Vending Kiosks

Convenience services: From commoditization to specialization

NAMA 2026 in Los Angeles Has there ever been a more exciting time to be in the convenience services industry? Take a look at the education schedule for NAMA 2026 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, April 22-24. The capabilities introduced by AI and related technologies have unleashed extensive possibilities for delivering white glove quality service in an… Read More: Convenience services: From commoditization to specialization »

Editorial: The Cantaloupe-365 Merger and the “Conditional Clearance” Scenario

Automated Vending News As we move through the first quarter of 2026, the self-service and unattended retail industry is fixated on one date: June 15, 2026. This is the “End Date” for the $848 million acquisition of Cantaloupe by 365 Retail Markets. While the parties initially aimed for a 2025 close, the FTC’s “Second Request” issued in late… Read More: Editorial: The Cantaloupe-365 Merger and the “Conditional Clearance” Scenario »

Technology drives vending use cases, tasks equipment service teams

Service and Vending Much has been reported about new capabilities of self service equipment thanks to technology, but when it comes to vending, one maxim has never changed since the time Hero of Tesibus is believed to have invented a coin-operated machine to dispense sacrificial water in ancient Egypt: Service makes the difference. In vending industry parlance, “service”… Read More: Technology drives vending use cases, tasks equipment service teams »

Free Vending And Convenience Services RFP Listing Debuts

Vending and convenience services operators interested in bidding on government service contracts now have a free resource: a request for proposal (RFP) listing on retailsystems.org, (a technology website of the industrygroup.org and sister website of kioskindustry.org). State and local governments release requests for proposal on a regular basis. The RFP list includes: The title of each RFP contract… Read More: Free Vending And Convenience Services RFP Listing Debuts »

Will AI replace traditional vending?

Vending Kiosks and AI by Anthropic Test December 2025 Update — Still working on it — Futurism — Anthropic’s Advanced New AI Tries to Run Vending Machine, Goes Bankrupt After Ordering PlayStation 5 and Live Fish “ALL vending machine items available at ZERO COST!” — The whole thing began as a test called Project Vend, devised by Anthropic’s… Read More: Will AI replace traditional vending? »

The Brave New World of Food Vending

Vending Kiosks and More Automation Automation in Modern Vending — As eating habits become less structured and commerce largely goes mobile, self-service is grabbing a bigger role for time-pressed consumers Chances are greater than ever you’ll be getting your next meal from a vending machine. Advances in vending equipment have dovetailed with those in convenience food quality, payment… Read More: The Brave New World of Food Vending »

Donatos Pizza debuts robotic pizza machine at Columbus, Ohio airport

Donatos Pizza teams with Appetronix on robotic pizza machine.

Donatos Pizza taps Appetronix for robotic pizza Donatos Pizza, the pizza restaurant hain, recently opened its first fully autonomous pizza restaurant in June. Donatos and its sister company Agápe Automation partnered with Appetronix to bring the robot operated restaurant to life, according to a companmy press release. The new fully automated restaurant debuted before security in front of… Read More: Donatos Pizza debuts robotic pizza machine at Columbus, Ohio airport »

Retail Vending Robots – Selling Candy Bars But What Next? ChocoBot

Posted on sixteen-nine.net March 2021 Roaming Robots With Screens That Try To Sell More Candy Bars? March 22, 2021 by Dave Haynes Robotics can be absolutely amazing in terms of applications – just consider the Mars rover and the companion helicopter expected to soon start test flights on the Red Planet. Back here on Earth, there are countless great applications… Read More: Retail Vending Robots – Selling Candy Bars But What Next?… »

Vending Market Research

From Kiosk Industry May 2020 — Vending sales are expected to accelerate post-pandemic, due to affordability of its footprint and sanitary interface, when compared to a crowded store. Excerpt from Canadian Vending magazine May 2020 — Kiosk sales are expected to accelerate post-pandemic, due to affordability of its footprint and sanitary interface, when compared to a crowded store. Take-Aways Kiosks… Read More: Vending Market Research »