The Everest Blog

The old method of ice delivery is costly and problematic, both for you and your customers. People are already shopping at your store for convenience – why not make it even easier while saving space and money in the process? Here are 10 reasons why convenience store owners and retailers should be taking advantage of ice and water vending:

10 Benefits of Ice and Water Vending for Stores

1. High-Profit Margins. You run a business, so you know how detrimental the cost of goods can be to your profits – especially in the midst of supply chain challenges. When ice is made right where it’s vended to your customers, you cut out the costs of all the unnecessary steps of outdated ice delivery systems. Everest offers a high ice vending machine profit margin by providing the most energy-efficient machine on the market. It only costs you about $0.07 to make a product you can sell for $2.00-$3.00. That’s a gross margin of up to 98%!
2. Meeting Demand. Since your product is made where it is purchased, you don’t have to wait for deliveries or waste time stocking the bags of ice when they come in. That means on busier weekends or holidays, you don’t have to worry about running out, because your ice maker will recover the product as it is sold.
3. Eliminate Theft. When you have an ice merchandiser or freezer on the outside of your business, it is far more susceptible to theft. When people take bags they haven’t purchased, those costs add up for you fast. That can do some considerable damage to your bottom line. The alternative is locking it up and requiring an employee to come to unlock it as needed. This causes long lines and wait times for your customers. With ice and water vending machines, that isn’t an issue – the customer pays before the product is vended.
4. Save Space. Make room for other products in your store by selling ice outside without the risk of theft. The filtered water and ice industry is booming with an impressive revenue exceeding $6.5 billion dollars annually. You already have the location, and with the smallest footprint of any machine in its class, an Everest VX only takes up 20 square feet – or about half the size of a parking space.
5. No Additional Inventory. All you need is water and electricity. You won’t have to waste time on inventory tracking or restocking. You won’t even need additional employees to run the machine. Plus, Everest has a user-friendly remote management software, Basecamp. This keeps track of sales, maintenance, and data is simple and keeps everything you need all in one place. Ice and water vending is a breeze!
6. Low Maintenance. One moving part means fewer maintenance issues and far less work for you in the long run. At 7 million jam-free vends and counting, the numbers speak for themselves. Plus, maintenance has never been easier with options like Everest’s Ice Shield ozone disinfection system, which disinfects the entire ice path from the ice maker to the dispensing chute. That’s as passive as income gets!
7. Utilize Your Existing Customer Base. Customers shop at your store primarily for convenience. Adding ice and water vending to your location will offer further convenience while adding TWO revenue streams in one platform, for very little space and cost to you. Because you already have an existing customer base, you are far more likely to see a faster return on your investment.
8. Increase Traffic. Convenience store ice vending is a great way to increase your sales with your existing customer base, but it’s also a great way to gain exposure – and new customers – for your store. People who need ice and see the machines outside will be drawn to your store so they can satisfy their errands all at once. Not to mention – no matter what your business hours are, ice vending is a 24-hour earning opportunity.
9. Quality Control. During transportation and handling, ice may be exposed to fluctuating temperatures. This causes melting and refreezing – that’s why people slam them on the ground to break up the chunks. This factor, as well as the journey from factory to store, means bags could tear or get damaged and expose the ice inside to bacteria. With ice vending, the only person that touches the ice is the customer buying it directly from the machine.
10. Expand Your Brand. Match your ice and water vending machine to your store with custom branding. Everest offers several custom branding options, from logo design to custom acrylic panels, marketing materials, and more. This is YOUR business, not ours, so expand your brand awareness – for one machine, or for several at various locations.

Ice and water vending will elevate your business to the next level. For your customers, it’s all about convenience. Give them what they want while saving yourself time, money, space, and energy.