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Vending machines are perhaps the least personal way to sell items, but mobile wallets are providing a fresh visibility into their customers' habits.
It's even possible to use mobile wallets such as Apple Pay to enroll vending machine customers into a loyalty program - a concept that seems at odds with the impulsive and anonymous nature of most vending machine purchases.
"When a consumer uses coins or cash, all you can tell is volume over a long period of time," said Amelia Powell, USA Technologies' senior marketing director. "But with mobile, we can pin down when transactions are happening and can report on that information."
In a recently announced deal, USA Technologies (USAT) will integrate its MORE. loyalty and payroll deduct platform with Apple Pay for use at as many as 300,000 machines across the U.S. Companies that operate unattended machines, such as vending machines that dispense soda and snacks, will be able to more closely tie contactless mobile payments to marketing. Consumers can enroll and have the USAT loyalty card added directly to Apple Pay.
USAT is also collaborating with Urban Airship, a mobile market development company, to improve marketing content for mobile apps. Consumers that present an iPhone or Apple Watch will get an electronic prompt to join USATs loyalty program.
These consumers can then add a digital loyalty card to the Apple Wallet, which can be used to receive or redeem loyalty perks at any participating machine, since that user's loyalty...