Amtek, a specialist in the vending field, has designed a variety of dedicated solutions to satisfy changing consumption habits during the COVID-19 era.
By enriching its vending solutions with a Locker module, Amtek aims to improve the self-service experience, and at the same time meet the current needs of the retail market and the regulations required by the pandemic.
Safety, remote purchasing and shopping experience in this prolonged period of pandemic are the three pillars of the “new normal” scenario, where solutions that combine digital (remote purchasing) and physical retail find their place.
The purpose is to provide business continuity, respond to the needs of end consumers and better support retailers who, affected by new regulations and purchasing habits, had to radically change their business model.
Covid has changed consumption habits forever, accelerating the adoption of technological tools on a large scale. One fact is emblematic: during the months of lockdown, 75% of online purchases were made by people who had never shopped in digital marketplaces before. In addition, according to a research by GFK, when visiting stores nowadays, 73% of people look for safety and hygiene measures, and 35% prefer the staff not to touch the goods on sale.
Taking a focus in the pharmacy world, the post-covid sales scenario is depicted by some ongoing trends: online pharmacy sales grew 64% (source: Pharmacyscanner), while “contactless” sales in the traditional sales channel increased by 200% and, contextually, purchases in multi-product vending machines grew by 23.5.%
In the last period, we have recorded a great interest in solutions that make life easier for end customers, both in the retail and pharmaceutical sectors. There has been an average increase of 700% in the demand for lockers in the pharmaceutical world too.
In light of the trends, Amtek has developed a new locker range which aims to help retailers and at the same time provide safety to both operators and buyers, thereby facilitating the purchasing process. How? Using contactless purchase methods, that avoid contact with the surfaces within stores and with the operators.
Lockers can be considered as a sort of warehouse outside the traditional point of sale. They consist of heated or refrigerated compartments for product display and are fully equipped with payment systems (directly on site or remotely from home or office). This solution can be used in the pharmaceutical sector as well as in a broader spectrum of retail outlets.
