Vengo Labs Launches Touchless Kiosks

A survey carried out on vending and OCS businesses has revealed an average 64% fall in turnover in March to May when compared to the same period in 2019. (Vending International).

The report by the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) and the European Vending and Coffee Service Association (EVA) aimed to gauge the financial impact of the COVID-19 on the industry. It also tried to measure the change in March to May 2020 throughput, look at expectations to the year-end, and look ahead to how 2021 might be affected.

While we still don’t understand the full impact of COVID-19, companies like Vengo Labs, a provider of digital kiosks that enable unattended retail and sampling, aren’t waiting around to see what will happen. Instead, Vengo Labs has quickly pivoted to provide solutions that are addressing the impact of COVID-19 to address the immediate needs of consumers.

The company adapted its connected software platform by launching a touchless soluiton where the consumer can use her mobile devices to control the kiosk. Now customers can purchase PPE products including KN95 face masks, hand sanitizer packets and rubber gloves via their phones as an alternative to touching the screen on the connected vending machines.

Vengo Labs is deploying this touchless retail technology across its network of over 1,400 kiosks in gyms, hotels, schools, retail and transit locations around the nation, beginning with the launch of touchless personal protective equipment for New York City metropolitan commuters, tourists and travelers using the MTA, Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad. (Vending Times).

Sarah Feinberg, Interim President of MTA New York City Transit says “The national increase in COVID-19 cases shows how important it is for us to maintain vigilance on use of masks and other PPE. We want to make it as easy as possible for customers who may not have masks to get them so they can ride the subway. Wearing a mask is the single most important thing our customers can do to protect themselves and those around them – and more than that, it’s absolutely required to ride the system.” (Untapped Cities).

As the primary managed service provider for Vengo Labs, OptConnect is proud to be providing the connectivity that is powering these touchless kiosks. We know that COVID-19 has greatly impacted many ways in which we used to live and the importance of businesses shifting to accommodate our new normal. With our managed solution, kiosk deployers are getting access to:

• The industry’s best fully managed solution
• Ultra-reliable connectivity through all the major carriers
• Industrial grade routers and modems
• 24/7 technical support
• Real-time device statuses
• Data overage risk mitigation
• 24/7 monitoring and management of their devices and their connectivity
• Simplified billing
• And so much more!

For more information on OptConnect’s fully managed connectivity, please visit us at www.optconnect.com.