Vending machine: the new retail era of AI intelligence in the future!

With the trend of 'unmanned retail' sweeping across the country, smart vending machines have become the focus of the development of the smart retail terminal market due to their diversified business models, smaller footprint, and higher floor efficiency. my country's smart vending machine industry can be divided into four stages according to technological innovation and application: coin-operated mechanical, electronic, digital, and intelligent. At present, domestic vending machines are in the transitional stage from digital to high-end intelligence. The vending machines that have entered the market have basically been digitalized, and AI intelligence related technologies are still in research and development and testing, and they have not yet been fully popularized. The essence of digitalization is to improve efficiency, and intelligence is more embodied in the human-computer interaction level to provide a personification experience, to make up for the 'no temperature' defect of unmanned retail. In general, digitization and intelligence are the inevitable trends in the development of the self-service vending machine industry. The development stages of vending machines in my country are divided: 1. The era of mechanical vending: the initial stage of vending machines in the domestic market, the use of mechanical industrial control equipment to complete the shipment, the equipment failure rate is high. 2. The era of electronic vending: operating infrared sensing technology, USB data transfer technology, network management technology, SaaS system and multiple advanced technologies, which improve the efficiency and accuracy of equipment operation. 3. The era of digital intelligent vending: operational data analysis capabilities, combined with multiple comparisons such as geographical, consumer groups, and category operations, optimize product selection, reduce supply chain costs, and improve consumers with more cost-effective products 4. Intelligent new retail Era: AI artificial intelligence is used as the central control system. AI completes multiple anthropomorphic experiences such as voice interaction, payment guidance, and after-sales response, and AI supervises industrial control to realize intelligent temperature control, non-destructive shipping and other functions. Since the peak of the'unmanned retail' shooting wave in 2017, the idea of'unmanned convenience store winter' has spread everywhere. It is true that once the'new retail' was proposed, countless entrepreneurs and investment institutions flocked to the outlet of unmanned retail. Now the tide has faded. Unmanned retail has entered a bubble burst in recent years, but it is worth mentioning that self-service vending machines The market is still growing strongly against the trend. With the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in early 2020, on the one hand, the closure of the city and roads has brought problems such as supply chain breaks, sudden sales declines and blocked exports to vending machines. On the other hand, with the improvement of the epidemic situation and the development of contactless shopping habits, Citizens generally recognize and are accustomed to unattended lifestyles, such as self-service delivery, take-out and other necessities. Related manufacturers have also increased the deployment of self-service vending machines in schools, communities and factories, such as Harbin, Tianjin and other places. The'non-contact mask vending machine' was launched to help prevent and control the epidemic. Many unmanned retail companies have switched to selling self-service retail equipment-self-service vending machines, automatic vending cabinets, self-pickup counters, etc. In the past, some scenes where the demand for automatic vending was not clear, the demand was affected by the epidemic and showed a clear growth trend, such as Medical facilities, hotels and training institutions. Some small supermarkets and small stores are also willing to place some automatic retail cabinets. This has become a new direction for unmanned retail, and the vending machine industry has ushered in a new market growth point.