Self Serve Carwash News Fall '19

Cold, Hard Cash
Are ice vending machines a good addition for
your self-serve wash? One expert weighs in.
According to Tyler Jones of Kooler Ice an ice vending
machine is a good addition to a self-serve car
wash for several reasons, including:
1. Location. The same reason you put a car
wash in the location you did, is the same reason
an ice vending machine will do well. The
demographics for each are very similar.
2. Zero Rent. Car wash owners have access
to real estate, they do not have to pay rent to
place the machine. It is a great way to increase
traffic and get better utilization of the property.
If you can attract 10,000-12,000 customers
a year to your car wash to purchase ice, it is a
great way to sell additional washes, improve
customer satisfaction and increase your overall
awareness in the community.
3. Easy Utilities. Electricity and water are
generally readily available on site, and a lot of
owners will use their RO system to provide
purified ice and water to their customers
without having to purchase an RO system on
the machine, thus lowering their equipment
acquisition price while providing a superior
product.
4. Ease of Use. Car wash owners are generally
a mechanical group, and are very familiar
with bill validators, coin exchangers, sensors
and motors, etc. So, managing an ice machine
will not be difficult for car wash owners.
Why have they
become so popular?
Ice vending machines have become popular
because of the benefits they offer to customers
looking to buy ice and the owners who manage
the machines.
For customers it is a convenient way to buy ice.
Rather than having to go into a store and wait in
line, they can pull their car up to a machine, insert
their money, get their ice, put it in the car, and be
on their way. They will also pay considerably less
for vended ice, compared to ice that is delivered
to a store. It costs 40 cents to make a bag of ice
through ice vending while it costs $1.15 for a store
to acquire a delivered bag of ice. An average vended
10 lb. bag of ice will cost a customer $1.50-$2.
An average 10 lb. bag purchased from a store will
cost $2.50-$4.
Cost is one of the first benefits for business
owners. As previously mentioned, it costs about
40 cents to vend a bag of ice compared to $1.15
for ice delivery companies. Thus, it presents an
opportunity for profit margin improvement. Furthermore,
you virtually eliminate stock out and
overstock issues. Every bag is bagged on demand.
You also cut out theft entirely. You can choose
from four different models to best match your
customer demand for ice, so you rarely run out or
have too much ice in stock.
22 • FALL 2019