How Much Do Vending Machines Make Monthly? 3 Major Affecting Factors
If you’re planning to start a vending machine business, you’re probably wondering exactly how much money it can make you every month.
A vending machine generates more than $300 of revenue per month if placed in an optimal location. A single vending machine might make a gross of $4,000 to $7,000 a year, with a 40% profit.
According to Barry Strickland on YouTube, he makes approximately $500,000 a year with his vending machine business.
It’s a brilliant way to make extra money, as long as you don’t mind stocking up the machine every week or so.
In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about starting a vending machine business. How much do vending machines make monthly? And what does the job entail?
Let’s find out.
RELATED READ: Can I Rent a Vending Machine?
How Much Do Vending Machines Make Monthly?
The answer to this question depends on multiple factors, including location, product selection, payment options, and inventory management.
In optimal circumstances, an individual vending machine can make up to $300 to several thousand dollars a month.
The vending industry has been around for decades, but it’s still as strong as ever; now even more so, with the demand for prompt, contactless service.
According to IBISWorld, vending machines bring in roughly $36.5 billion in annual revenue in the US in 2020. More than 65% of the market is made up of small business owners, who mostly sell snacks and drinks.
Vending machines evolve with the market, so they’re mostly recession-proof. Today, vending machines accept all forms of cashless payment, including credit/debit and mobile pay. They also sell all kinds of products, not only snacks and drinks, including some of the more ludicrous ones like flowers, fresh meat, and cupcakes.
You’ll even find machines that spit out 24-karat gold in 320 different forms!
According to Barry Strickland, who makes approximately $500,000 a year with his vending machine business, a single vending machine might make a gross of $4,000 to $7,000 a year, 40% of which is profit. That doesn’t seem like much, but that’s actually the absolute minimum you can get.
Stickland adds, “If you build up routes that you can serve quickly and efficiently—like blue-collar businesses of around 100 people—you can grow a booming business.”
RELATED READ: Are Ice Vending Machines Profitable? Business Cost & Profit
3 Major Factors That Affect Vending Machine Sales
Like most businesses, there are multiple factors that can make or break vending machine sales. The biggest are as follows:
Location
Perhaps the biggest factor that influences vending machine sales is location. Vending machines are all about convenience, so they’re best placed in easy-to-access locations with a decent number of working people.
Here are some of the most profitable vending machine locations in the US, including average market sales, as per IBISWorld:
- Manufacturing sites: 30.2%
- Offices: 25.4%
- Hotels: 12.7%
- Schools: 9.9%
- Retail: 7.3%
- Hospitals: 6.2%
- Military bases: 4.7%
- Bars and clubs: 3.6%
As you can see, many of these locations have heavy foot traffic or large worker populations. Without people, your vending machine business is doomed to fail.
Remember: vending purchases fall into two categories: habitual buys and impulse buys. People either make a habit of making a purchase every day during their breaks or grab something on the go when they need a quick snack.
For this reason, you should always place your vending machine in an optimal location that’s both close to major establishments and easy to find.
Payment Options
These days, you’ll rarely see anyone carrying cash. In fact, today’s society has mostly gone cashless. As such, it’s a good idea to offer cashless payment solutions on your vending machine.
According to a study conducted by Michigan State University, cashless technology improves cash-based activity, particularly for machines that have lower volume sales of less than $2,000 a year.
Cashless sales increased by a whopping 131% in low-performing machines, compared to the 35% increase on machines already equipped with cashless tech. Credit card purchases make up approximately 74% of sales, as opposed to 13% for cash purchases.
Digital mobile payments account for 5% to 7% of purchases, but this number continues to grow as more and more vending machines accept PayPal, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and the like.
Internet-connected machines are also much easier to repair and diagnose than their offline counterparts, which is a massive advantage for online vendors.
Product Selection
Product selection greatly impacts a vending machine’s overall sales. Snacks and beverages are a safe and cheap choice, but they won’t turn any heads. After all, people can just as easily buy these products at a nearby store at a cheaper price. So instead, sell unique items that’ll do well in the area you selected.
For instance, coffee vending machines sell especially well in companies and universities, while ice cream or cupcake vending machines do well in parks and schools.
In Japan, vending machines sell almost anything and everything. The vast majority serve hot and cold beverages, but you’ll also find machines that sell rice, umbrellas, vegetables, and meals such as noodles, hotdogs, and pizza (all piping hot!).
Most of these unique machines sell extremely well, which is why vending machines are especially popular among small business owners in Japan.
Here are some product ideas to consider:
- Burgers or sandwiches
- Pasta, spaghetti, or ramen
- Healthy organic snacks
- Freshly squeezed fruit juice
- Smoothies and milkshakes
- Toys
- Pet food
- Hot vegan meals
- Nutrients and protein for athletes
Of course, the products you sell must fit the location. Protein shakes and energy bars probably won’t sell in a school, but they’ll certainly sell in gyms, swimming pools, and stadiums.
Smoothies and milkshakes sell well in malls, schools, and universities.
Burgers and sandwiches will do great near bars, nightclubs, and apartment complexes when midnight cravings hit.
Final Thoughts
The vending machine market is on a steady rise, projected to hit $146.6 billion by 2027. Capitalize on this success by renting or buying a vending machine or two.
See how they fare for several months and experiment with locations and product selections.
On average, expect to make at least $300 a month per vending machine. That’s not bad, especially if you own several vending machines! With the right location, you may receive thousands of dollars in revenue a year.
It could be a viable business opportunity and something to consider if you are interested in the market and have the fund to do so.
