Vending in Austria

2020 IMPACT

Reduced footfall in busy areas due to home seclusion trend results in declines for much of vending in 2020

Vending experienced declining sales in 2020 as a direct result of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown due to reduced consumer footfall in public spaces including shopping centres where many vending machines tend to be located. However, this trend continued beyond the initial lockdown period in spring as Austrians remained cautious about spending too long in large public spaces for fear of risk of exposure to the virus.

Tobacco vending bucks declining trend in 2020 as consumers avoid specialist stores

One notable exception to the declining trend was the largest value category of tobacco vending, which benefited from consumers switching to this channel during the pandemic, as it was perceived to be an alternative to visiting tobacco specialists in an attempt to reduce contact when making a purchase. One other trend to emerge in 2020 was a limited number of vending machines offering pandemic-related products such as face masks and hand sanitiser.

Strongest declines for leader café+co in 2020

café+co International Holding GmbH, which is a specialist in hot drinks vending with other activities in packaged foods vending and cold drinks vending, retained its leadership of a highly fragmented competitive landscape in 2020 through its café+co banner. The player has been instrumental in helping to improve the image of packaged drinks vending through its use of premium, organic and fair trade products.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Rapid recovery for vending in 2021 due to predicted higher footfall in public spaces

Vending is predicted to record a notable surge in value growth (at constant 2020 prices) in 2021 due to increasing footfall as consumers start to spend longer periods of time outside of their homes, depending on the threat level of the virus. This will ensure that value sales quickly recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Further potential for vending to expand

Despite the predicted upturn in demand in 2021, value sales growth will quickly return to greater levels of normalisation from 2022 onwards. However, vending still offers plenty of potential for expansion given its overall small size within Austrian retailing.

Declines predicted for tobacco vending due to increasing health consciousness

The largest category of tobacco vending is predicted to record a weaker performance over the forecast period following its slight boost to sales during 2020. This will be linked to the declining number of smokers in Austria due to rising health concerns, a particularly relevant factor in the wake of the pandemic.