The Meteoric Rise of Unattended Retail

The Next Multi-Billion-Dollar Industry

PALM BEACH, Florida, May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

MarketNewsUpdates.com News Commentary 

"Unattended cashless retail" may sound futuristic, like a driverless car, but in reality, it is a thriving segment of the economy that is forecasted by ResearchAndMarkets.com to grow to $34 billion by 2023. What used to be dominated by simple coin-based laundromats and vending machines selling candy bars is now a high-growth, multi-layered and profitable segment retailing items like frozen yogurt, electronics, makeup, school supplies and over-the-counter medicines. Mentioned in today's commentary include: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Generation Next Franchise Brands (OTC: VEND), USA Technologies (NASDAQ: USAT), McDonalds (NYSE: MCD).

Unattended retail comes to life through city parking meters to garages, where there is no longer a need to store quarters. Vending machines not only sell food and drink with increasingly healthy options, but they increasingly offer other convenient items that people on the go frequently need like earbuds, power cords, batteries and toothpaste. Unattended retail represents a gold rush opportunity for these non-perishable goods. There's potential to offer almost any consumer good through high-tech vending.

In the absence of a cashier and the typical bricks-and-mortar retail environment, cashless unattended retail attracts more customers more frequently who spend more. These machines mean that customers can interact with merchants more quickly, without having to waste time standing in lines waiting on slow-moving employees who may be distracted in their own thoughts. This new form of retail is particularly attractive to millennials, who prefer human-less transactions.

There are three main reasons operators are looking to automate. One is to cut labor costs by not having to pay human employees. Another is to increase efficiency, quality, sanitation, uniformity, etc. Last, some companies will use automation and robotics for remote management inventory, troubleshooting and generating sales data. Here are five companies poised to profit from the technological leap: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Generation Next Franchise Brands (OTCQB: VEND), USA Technologies (NASDAQ: USAT) and McDonalds (NYSE: MCD).