Purchase Intentions Survey reveals more aggressive plans as the economy improves: the second annual Automatic Merchandiser 12-month Purchase Intentions Survey uncovers rising optimism as more operators gear up for long-term growth.

As economic conditions slowly improve, operators are making plans to offer more of the latest and most improved vending equipment, according to the second annual Automatic Merchandiser Purchase Intentions Survey. Operators queried throughout the country in mid-August reported the account downsizing has hindered sales since mid-2000 began to reverse in the first quarter of 2004.

While customers are not adding workers in large numbers, most operators agreed that conditions have improved. The nation's unemployment rate dropped from a 5.9 percent average in 2003 to 5.6 percent through the first half of 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Higher levels of employment traditionally translate to higher vending sales.

To secure new locations and improve customer relations in existing accounts, vending operators realize they need to offer new equipment. The Purchase Intentions Survey indicated that operators in 2004 have more aggressive purchasing plans than they did in 2003, when economic conditions were less promising.

Automatic Merchandiser sent an e-marl survey to 3,800 operators in mid-August, asking for specific purchase plans in every major equipment category. Approximately 200 completed questionnaires were returned within one week.

Candy/snack venders lead list

Nearly 60 percent of the respondents plan to buy new candy/snack machines in the next 12 months, almost 40 percent plan to buy single-cup brewers, and 40 percent plan to buy refrigerated food machines.

The 58.56 percent planning to buy new candy/snack machines this year surpasses the 53.5 percent that announced such plans at this time last year. The candy/snack segment is the segment that operators targeted with the most aggressive buying plans in both of the last two years.

Purchase intentions in the cold drink area are less promising. Just over 34 percent of respondents plan to buy new cold beverage machines this year, compared to 40 percent last year. However, operators traditionally buy fewer cold drink machines since they use machines provided by bottlers.

The respondent base included a high percentage of larger operators, both this year and last year. While the survey was designed to represent all size operators, the results indicated that larger firms responded in greater numbers. Close to 30 percent of the respondents indicated they are active in manual foodservice, which is about twice as high as the industry average, according to the Automatic Merchandiser State of the …