We are thrilled to announce that we have signed an agreement to acquire Cantaloupe Systems, long recognized as a like-minded innovator bringing smart and effective intelligence software to the vending, micro markets, and office coffee service industry. The acquisition enables us to combine Cantaloupe’s award-winning Logistics and vending intelligence technology with our market-leading payment platform to bring the most powerful, holistic enterprise platform the unattended retail market that has ever seen. The acquisition is expected to be complete later this week.
The news comes as brick-and-mortar retailers continue to struggle with how technology is changing the retail landscape, shifting consumer demands and expectations. Consumers want faster, easier, customized and convenient retail experiences.
Our industry is at a unique advantage because, in our world, it has always been about providing goods and services aligned with consumer preferences and convenience – including how they pay – making unattended retail a hotbed of technology innovation and growth. This has powered the evolution of the industry well beyond vending machines to include everything from ordering kiosks for Starbucks coffee to key cutting machines at Home Depot as we couple the right buying experience with the right technology.
As the leader in cashless and mobile payments technology in self-serve and unattended retail, we at USAT have made it our personal mission to drive innovation. Whether it’s connecting the industry’s first loyalty program (More.) with Apple Pay, or launching the most advanced interactive media, content delivery system, and touchscreens for the self-service retail market (ePort Interactive), USAT is committed to leading the industry forward, anticipating the needs of consumers, and enabling our customers and partners to reap the rewards of greater efficiency, higher spend and better margins.
USAT has long been known to be the best in the business at increasing top line sales through innovation but recognized that another critical element needed stronger focus: cost reduction.
Our acquisition of Cantaloupe combines the strength of two industry leaders into one advanced and comprehensive enterprise solution that benefits our combined customer base and perfectly aligns our companies to move the industry forward yet again.
Here are a few benefits customers and partners will see through the acquisition:
- Complimentary platform: The Cantaloupe product line has powerful synergies with USAT’s market-leading ePort® Connect Platform. It’s Seed Cloud™ is comprised of Seed Pro, Seed Office, Seed Cashless, Seed Delivery and Seed Markets. These solutions provide cloud and mobile solutions for dynamic route scheduling, automated pre-kitting, responsive merchandising, inventory management, warehouse and accounting management. The collective technologies allow for decreased operational costs, increased sales, and the ability for customers to run their business in a more efficient and competitive way.
- International and vertical expansion: The acquisition will enable the combined companies to drive mainstream adoption of their technology and execute on USAT’s product vision in vending and well beyond. With operations in the US, and now adding Canada, Australia, and Mexico, Cantaloupe’s existing customer base expands USAT’s footprint into new global markets. In addition, with this new technology, we will be in a great position to develop platform enhancements for markets beyond vending, such as kiosks, parking, laundry, and entertainment.
- The customer experience: Data is key to success for any company today, coupled with services and support. The collective technologies allow us to provide customers with a much more streamlined experience with access to rich and actionable data. Our enhancements to the premier services and MORE programs will give our customers the ability to engage with consumers in the moment at the point of sale, with product-specific promotions or recommendations, as well as help provide better experiences between brands and consumers.
We are thrilled to have Cantaloupe on board. Together we will reshape and map how the retail industry overall adapts to the new, consumer-driven retail environment through unattended, cashless technologies. We look forward to continuing to lead the evolution and welcome you to join us for the ride.