Could Vending Estates Become the Next Retail Media Networks?
Could connected vending screens become retail media networks? We explore supplier campaigns, daypart offers, sales measurement and the role of furniture in connecting mixed equipment...
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Digital screens and retail media in vending are not new. What is changing is the way those screens can be connected, managed and measured across a wider estate.
Recent US figures provide an indication of the direction of travel. According to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, US out-of-home advertising revenue reached US$3.16 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Digital out-of-home grew by 18.5%, while place-based advertising increased by 19.3%.
The advertisers behind that growth make the figures particularly interesting for vending. Coca-Cola ranked among the largest OOH advertisers, while Pepsi and Nestlé were among the brands that more than doubled their investment year-on-year. These are familiar names within vending and automated retail, where their products are already available close to the point of purchase.
This does not mean their increased OOH investment was directed towards vending screens. It does, however, demonstrate that brands with an established presence in the channel continue to value physical, place-based media.
Those figures cannot be transferred directly to the UK vending market. They raise an interesting question nevertheless: could connected vending screens give operators and suppliers another measurable way to reach customers?
From Digital Signage to Retail Media
A screen showing menus, promotions or customer information provides digital signage. It becomes part of a potential retail media network when it connects with other screens, locations, campaign controls and measurable commercial outcomes.
That network might allow an operator to:
- Coordinate campaigns across several locations
- Schedule content by site, audience or time of day
- Promote products across different pieces of equipment
- Deliver supplier-funded campaigns
- Record when and where content appeared
- Compare campaign activity with product sales
The opportunity is not simply to show more advertising. It is to create useful communication that supports the customer, the operator, the site client and the brands involved.
The Industry Is Already Moving
An increasing number of smart vending machines now incorporate substantial screens as part of the equipment. These displays can combine product browsing, selection and payment with promotions, customer information and branded content.
Some technology platforms are also connecting screens across multiple machines and locations. Depending on the system, this may allow content to be managed centrally, campaigns to be scheduled by time or site and activity to be compared with aggregated transaction data.
This demonstrates what can be achieved when machines, screens, software and media platforms operate as one connected system.
Existing vending machines are also gaining digital capability through retrofitted displays. This can help operators modernise established equipment without replacing an otherwise serviceable estate.
However, many locations contain more than one type of machine or technology. A workplace refreshment area might include traditional vending, smart fridges, coffee equipment, payment terminals, microwaves and micro market merchandising, often supplied by several different manufacturers and technology partners.
Dedicated media screens within the wider environment can provide an additional communication layer across that mixed equipment. Rather than being tied to one machine, they can help connect the complete offer through coordinated promotions, customer information and consistent branding.
Integrated, Retrofitted or Linked?
Each screen type has a different role within the customer journey.
Screens Built into the Machine
An integrated machine screen can support browsing, product selection, payment and promotions at the point of interaction. Because the screen forms part of the equipment, it may also connect directly with stock, pricing and transaction data.
It is particularly valuable once the customer has approached that machine.
Retrofitted Screens
Retrofitting can introduce media and information to existing vending equipment. The practical details matter: mounting, power, data, ventilation, cable management and maintenance access all need to be resolved without obstructing the machine or making future servicing more difficult.
Dedicated Screens within the Environment
A media screen integrated into the surrounding furniture can communicate across the whole refreshment offer.
It might promote a lunch deal involving food from a smart fridge, a drink from a vending machine and use of an adjacent microwave. It can also give an operator a consistent media position across sites containing different makes and models of equipment.
A machine screen supports the interaction with that machine. A linked media screen can communicate across the wider retail environment.
The two formats can complement one another. The larger screen attracts attention and introduces the offer, while individual machine interfaces support selection and purchase.
For practical guidance on screen position, integration, retrofitting and content management, read our Guide to Using Media Screens in Vending and Automated Retail.
One Campaign Across a Mixed Equipment Estate
Operators rarely manage completely uniform estates. Equipment varies according to location, customer requirements, available space and the products being sold.
A linked screen network could create consistency across that variation.
Using compatible content-management technology, an operator might run a common supplier campaign across vending machines, coffee points and micro markets without relying on every machine having the same screen or software.
This could support:
- Coordinated product launches
- Estate-wide seasonal campaigns
- Consistent branded content
- Cross-category meal deals
- Location-specific messaging
- Client or workplace communications
- Campaigns adapted around local equipment and availability
The ability to manage content centrally could also make operators more responsive. A national campaign might retain common branding while allowing the product, timing or message to change by location.
The Value of Dayparting
High-street food and drink retailers change their communication throughout the day. Vending and automated retail can apply similar thinking.
Screens could promote:
- Breakfast and hot drinks in the morning
- Meal deals around lunchtime
- Coffee and snacks during the afternoon
- Food-to-go options around shift changes
- Night-time availability in hospitals and manufacturing sites
- Event-related offers in sports and leisure venues
The screen-management platform schedules the content. The relevant retail, payment or EPOS system must support any promotional price or meal-deal mechanic.
Where stock data is available, more advanced integrations could also prevent unavailable products from continuing to appear in campaigns. This would depend on the capabilities of the appointed technology providers and the way the systems exchange information.
Connecting Campaigns with Sales
Measurement remains one of the central challenges in digital out-of-home advertising. Automated retail may have a particular advantage because the screen sits close to both the product and the transaction.
Where a content-management system records what appeared on a screen, and automated retail software provides time-stamped, SKU-level transactions, operators could compare campaign activity with sales.
For example, an operator might:
- Run a lunchtime meal-deal campaign at selected sites.
- Record when and where the content appeared.
- Measure sales of the promoted products.
- Review the number of complete meal-deal purchases.
- Compare performance with an earlier period or similar control sites.
- Assess whether average transaction value or cross-category purchasing changed.
This would provide more information than a simple record of how many times the content played. It is important to distinguish between correlation and proof. An increase during a campaign does not automatically mean the screen caused every additional sale. Stock availability, pricing, footfall, weather and seasonal demand may also influence performance.
Controlled trials across comparable sites could provide stronger evidence of incremental uplift. Aggregated site and transaction data may be sufficient for much of this analysis without identifying individual customers.
Could Supplier Campaigns Create Another Revenue Stream?
Brands already invest in visibility near the point of purchase. A connected vending estate could give food, drink and equipment suppliers another way to reach customers in relevant locations.
The most immediate opportunity may be supplier-funded campaigns involving products available within the location. The connection between message, product and transaction is clear, and the campaign could potentially be evaluated using sales data.
Wider third-party advertising may also be appropriate in selected environments, particularly where operators can offer sufficient scale, reliable audience information and suitable locations.
The content must remain relevant to the people using the space. A screen that provides useful menus, offers and information is more likely to support the customer experience than one treated simply as available advertising inventory. Operators will also need agreement from site clients about media rights, acceptable advertising categories, content approval and the balance between commercial and site-specific communication.
What Would Operators Need?
A group of screens does not become a retail media network simply because they are connected to the internet.
Operators would need to consider:
- Which organisation controls each screen
- Who owns the right to sell or approve media
- Whether screens can be managed through a common CMS
- Which content formats each display supports
- How proof of play will be recorded
- What audience and transactional data are available
- Whether systems can exchange data securely
- How campaigns will be priced and reported
- Which advertising categories suit each environment
- How content will comply with UK advertising rules
Workplaces, hospitals, universities, manufacturing sites and travel environments may each require a different approach.
Designing the Physical Layer
Software and data make a connected media network possible, but the physical environment determines how successfully people can see and use it.
Screen position, size, viewing distance and sightlines influence whether content attracts attention. Power, connectivity, ventilation and protected cable routes affect reliability. Access panels and removable components determine how easily screens can be maintained or replaced.
The relationship between screens and equipment matters too. A display should help customers understand the offer without obscuring products, interrupting circulation or competing with payment and product-selection interfaces.
Physical consistency can also support digital consistency. Repeatable furniture details, screen positions and branded elements can create a recognisable framework across several locations, while dimensions and layouts remain responsive to each site.
At Nebrak, we design and manufacture the furniture and physical environments around vending, automated retail and refreshment equipment. We can accommodate machines with integrated displays, help incorporate retrofitted technology and build dedicated media screens into wider furniture schemes.
Screen hardware, software, payments, automated retail data and media management may be provided by specialist project partners. Our role is to help bring those elements together within one coordinated physical environment.
A Conversation Worth Starting
Vending estates may not yet operate as retail media networks at scale across the UK, but many of the necessary elements are already emerging: connected screens, cloud-based content management, automated retail data and equipment capable of delivering increasingly sophisticated customer experiences.
The opportunity may not depend on one type of machine or screen. It may come from connecting different technologies across the wider environment.
Could that help operators improve promotions, demonstrate value to suppliers and create new commercial opportunities?
And if it could, what needs to be designed into the next generation of vending and automated retail environments today?
Exploring Connected Vending and Retail Media?
Retail media in vending uses screens and other digital touchpoints to communicate with customers close to the point of purchase. This may include operator promotions, supplier campaigns, meal deals, product launches and relevant third-party advertising.
Machine displays primarily support interaction with an individual machine. Linked media screens can communicate across several machines, categories or locations, providing a consistent layer for wider campaigns and customer information.
Uniform hardware is not always essential. However, the content-management platform must support the relevant screens and formats. Consistent specifications can make campaign production, scheduling and reporting easier across a wider estate.
Useful information may include proof-of-play records, campaign dates, location, product availability, SKU-level transactions, meal-deal redemptions and average transaction value. Comparable sites or campaign-free periods can provide a more reliable benchmark.
Start with the commercial purpose. Decide whether the screens will support customer information, operator promotions, supplier campaigns or external advertising. The required hardware, software, data, permissions and measurement approach can then be developed around that objective.
Talk To Nebrak
Considering how screens could form part of your next vending, micro market or automated retail environment?
Nebrak can design furniture around existing equipment, emerging vending technology and dedicated media displays, helping create a coordinated physical platform for operators and their appointed technology partners.
Talk to our team about bringing equipment, screens, branding and customer flow together.
Further reading
Read our Guide to the Use of Media Screens in Vending and Automated Retail.