Dive Brief:
- Come 2015's close, 100,000 of Coca-Cola's vending machines will be allowing customers to make purchases using Apple Pay, as revealed today at Apple's "Spring Forward" event. The Verge cites Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that Apple Pay as of now is available at 40,000 Coke vending machines.
- This places Coke as one of the biggest retail acceptors of the service, says Tom Daly, Coke's global group director for mobile, in a post on the company's website.
- "Our consumers – especially tech-savvy teens and Millennials – want easy, fast, and secure payment options," said Derek Meyers, Coke's director of strategy for vending and on-premise, in that post. He also said, "and Apple Pay delivers on all fronts."
Dive Insight:
There are a few factors at play (or at Pay) here, one of them being the millennial focus. This certainly could attract younger consumers into buying soda if they can just whip out their phone to pay for it. On the other hand, recent data suggests millennials may not even need to be heavily persuaded into buying sugary goods.