Placing Zhigou vending machines on campus is a business option with great potential. However, when it comes to ensuring a sure profit, location selection is a crucial aspect. An appropriate location can guarantee that the vending machines have sufficient customer flow, thus achieving stable and considerable profits. So, how exactly should one choose the ideal locations to place vending machines on campus? Here are some key points for your reference.
I. Areas with Dense Student Traffic
Teaching Building Areas
Teaching buildings are the main places where students attend classes daily, with a large and relatively concentrated flow of people. During breaks between classes, many students will feel thirsty or hungry and have a strong demand for buying beverages and snacks. Vending machines can be placed in conspicuous and easily accessible positions such as the halls on each floor of the teaching building, near staircases, or in the public rest areas outside the classrooms. For example, placing a vending machine beside the staircase on each floor makes it convenient for students going to and from classes to make purchases along the way, which can maximize the capture of students' consumption needs during breaks and increase the usage rate and sales volume of the vending machines.
Dormitory Areas
Dormitories are where students live and also spaces for them to relax and interact with their roommates. Especially when they return to the dormitory at night or rest in the dormitory on weekends, students often need to buy some daily necessities, snacks, and beverages to meet their daily needs or satisfy their cravings. Placing vending machines at the entrances downstairs in the dormitory area, in the public activity areas within the dormitory area, or even in the corridors on each floor of each dormitory building can attract the attention of many students. When they have needs, they will think of and use the vending machines at the first time, thereby increasing sales opportunities.
Areas around the Playground and Gymnasium
After students engage in physical activities on the playground or participate in various sports events and trainings in the gymnasium, they usually sweat a lot and are in urgent need of replenishing water, so their demand for beverages will be particularly strong. Placing vending machines near the stands on the playground or at the entrances and exits of the gymnasium can just meet the immediate consumption needs of students after exercise, ensuring a good business. Moreover, these places are usually where students gather and communicate during their spare time. Even when there is no sports demand, many students will also chat and relax here. When they see the vending machines, they may also have the desire to buy, further expanding the customer base of the vending machines.
II. Considering Students' Consumption Habits and Scenarios
Areas around the Canteen
The canteen is a place that students must visit every day, and the periods before and after meals are usually peak times for students to buy beverages and snacks. Placing vending machines near the entrances and exits of the canteen or in the corners inside the canteen (if permitted by the school) can take advantage of the high traffic advantage of the canteen to attract many students who want to buy something 顺便 after having a meal. For example, some students may want to buy a bottle of beverage to relieve the greasiness after having a meal because they think the food in the canteen tastes too greasy. Or when waiting in line to get food, if they see interesting snacks in the vending machine, they will also buy them casually. All these create good sales conditions for the vending machines.
Inside or around the Library
The library is an important place for students to study. Although it is required to keep quiet inside, when students enter or leave the library or take a break outside during their study in the library, they will also have the need to buy stationery, beverages and other goods. Vending machines can be placed in the hall of the library, at the entrances and exits, or in the rest areas near the library to facilitate students to buy the items they need at appropriate times and meet their occasional needs during the learning process, thus increasing the usage rate of the vending machines in this specific scenario.
Campus Commercial Street
The commercial street on campus gathers various shops and is a centralized place for students' daily leisure shopping, with a relatively high popularity and consumption atmosphere. Placing vending machines in conspicuous positions on the commercial street, in the aisles between shops or at the nodes where people flow converges can enable them to integrate into this lively commercial environment and attract more students' attention. Moreover, students usually stay longer on the commercial street and have more time to browse the goods in the vending machines, increasing the possibility of purchase and helping to boost the sales volume of the vending machines.
III. Analysis of the Competition Situation
Avoiding Areas with Numerous Existing Retail Outlets
It is necessary to carefully observe the distribution of existing retail facilities on campus and try to avoid places where convenience stores and small shops are clustered. If there are already a large number of similar retail outlets in a certain area providing similar goods and services, it will be difficult for vending machines to stand out in the competition, and their sales volume may be greatly affected. For example, if there are already several convenience stores closely adjacent near one of the school gates, then this area is not very suitable for placing vending machines anymore, unless you have unique product varieties or price advantages to attract students.
Looking for Unoccupied or Weakly Competitive Areas
On the contrary, it is necessary to actively look for unoccupied areas on campus that have not been fully developed or areas with relatively weak retail competition. For example, in some newly built teaching buildings and dormitory areas on campus, the surrounding commercial facilities may not be fully completed yet. At this time, if you take the lead in placing vending machines there, you can occupy the market first, attract the consumption of surrounding students, and develop stably without too much competition, laying the foundation for a sure profit.
IV. Convenience and Accessibility of the Site
Convenient Transportation
The selected location should be convenient for students to reach easily. It is best to be beside the main roads that students pass by daily or close to transportation hubs on campus, such as bicycle parking spots and internal bus stops. In this way, whether students are walking, cycling or taking the internal bus on campus and passing by, they can easily see and use the vending machines without giving up purchases due to inconvenient transportation.
Convenient for Replenishment
For operators, the location of the vending machines should be convenient for replenishment. Factors such as whether delivery vehicles can pass smoothly, whether there are suitable unloading locations, and whether replenishment personnel can easily enter the area where the vending machines are placed should be considered. If the replenishment process is full of difficulties, it will not only increase the operating costs but also may lead to untimely replenishment, affecting the normal operation and sales of the vending machines. Therefore, the convenience of the site cannot be ignored when selecting locations.
V. School Policies and Regulations
When placing vending machines on campus, it is necessary to comply with the relevant policies and regulations of the school. Some schools may have clear requirements regarding the placement location, quantity, and appearance of vending machines. For example, it may be stipulated that they can only be placed in specific public areas, or the appearance of the vending machines is required to be coordinated with the overall campus environment. Before selecting locations, it is necessary to communicate fully with the relevant management departments of the school, understand and comply with all the regulations of the school to avoid unnecessary troubles later and ensure that the vending machines can operate smoothly under the premise of complying with the regulations and achieve the goal of a sure profit.
In conclusion, the location selection of Zhigou campus vending machines needs to comprehensively consider multiple factors such as student traffic, consumption habits, competition situation, site convenience, and school policies. Only after comprehensive and careful consideration and choosing the most suitable locations can the vending machines on campus give full play to their advantages, attract a continuous stream of customers, achieve stable profits, and truly ensure a sure profit. It is hoped that these location selection points can help friends who want to place vending machines on campus. Wish you all a smooth business!
