BRUSSELS, Belgium – As initially announced at the recent launch of the Vending & Coffee Solutions Hub, the EVA (European Vending & Coffee Service Association) has published a new report on the Economic situation of the Vending & OCS industry. Following the publication of two EVA reports on the Covid-19 impact on the industry last year, the new report also draws on survey responses from both vending operators and suppliers (such as manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, payment solution providers etc) to a range of questions in relation to the recent economic landscape as well as business expectations for the rest of this year and 2022.
The report is published as a combined European report of all the responses, as well as 5 individual country reports (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) with responses from those markets specifically.
The findings demonstrate that both Operators and Suppliers see working from home as the main threat for the industry, while key opportunities indicated include cashless payments. Other interesting findings include:
- More than half of Operators (56%) declared a reduction in turnover in 2020 of between 21-40%.
- In 2022, 37% of the Suppliers expect growth compared to 2019.
- 91% of Operators are impacted by people working from home while 76% of Suppliers are affected by reduced orders.
- The scale of business investments appears to be flexible with 30% Operators and 23% of Suppliers planning an investment based on sales performances for this year.
As Covid restrictions continue to ease throughout Europe, companies are consequently reporting less machine/site access issues or closures (some of the big issues reported in 2020), but rather supply chain difficulties, changing demands, and reduced orders from clients are some of the main challenges this year for suppliers. With regards to opportunities, 66% of operators plan to adapt their machines by providing cashless payment options at their machines by the end of 2021, a significant figure which aims to meet new consumer demands.
The EVA Members have free and full access to the report and can request it directly via the EVA secretariat.
Anyone interested in purchasing or acquiring the report can contact EVA at this link.
