Jose Aparicio on "La Tarde de Telemadrid": Why do we buy what we buy from vending machines?

Have you ever gone to a vending machine for a coffee and returned with your hands full of snacks and sweets? You are not alone, and it is no coincidence. Jose Aparicio, founding partner of Crater and strategy director, participated on February 4th in the programme La Tarde de Telemadrid to explain the psychological and marketing mechanisms behind every impulsive purchase in a vending machine.

A new regulation that changes the rules of the game

Aparicio's intervention comes at a key moment, as the Government of Spain has promoted a Royal Decree that requires that, at a minimum, 80% of the products available in vending machines in hospitals, residences, and workplaces be healthy. The regulation requires that products such as water, fresh fruit, unfried nuts, yogurts without added sugars, and whole grain bread occupy the main space in vending machines, while ultra-processed products (industrial pastries, savoury snacks, and sugary drinks) are relegated to the less visible rows. In addition, hot drinks will be dispensed without sugar by default, with an optional maximum of five grams. In Spain, there are more than 390,000 food and beverage vending machines, and the consumption of ultra-processed products has tripled in the last two decades, rising from 11% to 32%.

Impulse buying: when the brain decides before you do

During his intervention, Aparicio explained how impulse buying works, that is, that moment when we acquire a product without having planned for it and even without needing it. The vast majority of decisions we make daily are more linked to emotion and instinct than to reason. Our brain makes the decision first and then rationalizes it so that we feel comfortable with the choice. In fact, according to neuromarketing research, as much as 95% of purchase decisions occur at a subconscious level.

The factors that lead us to buy

Aparicio identified several strategic elements that influence consumer behaviour in front of a vending machine:

• The location of the machine: its placement in areas of transit or waiting facilitates spontaneous purchases.

• Affordable price: the cost of the product should not be perceived as a barrier, but rather as something relatively economical.

• Attractive packaging: the design of the packaging appeals directly to our emotions and senses.

• Ease of payment: cash payment, contactless card payment, or mobile payment eliminates any friction.

• The position of the product within the machine is, according to Aparicio, the most determining factor. Anything that is at eye level, in the centre of the machine, is purchased one out of every two times.

The reason a specific product occupies that privileged position responds to a purely commercial logic: the gross profit margin of pastries, snacks, and vending beverages is between 40% and 60%. Brands know these dynamics and exploit them to maximize their sales.

In the end, as Aparicio explained on the programme, what really drives us to buy from a vending machine is something as simple —and as powerful— as the fact that the product is there.