As labor costs rise and consumers crave more convenience, unattended retail is redefining the everyday purchase process.
Global leader Cantaloupe, a 365 Retail Markets company, is at the center of this shift. Cantaloupe’s end-to-end technology ecosystem enables operators of devices like smart vending machines and card-operated laundry facilities to enjoy and deliver a modern, frictionless experience.
“We’re a one-stop shop for everything related to unattended retail,” explained Chief Revenue Officer, Jeff Dumbrell. “We work with leading companies like Sodexo and Aramark, support over 1.2 million devices, and have $3.4 billion a year running through our payment rails.”
By integrating secure cashless payment hardware with cloud-based software, Cantaloupe allows operators to scale their businesses into diverse high-traffic environments such as gyms, stadiums, and micro-markets while reducing labor costs and maximizing operational efficiency. Handling nearly 1.2 billion transactions a year, Cantaloupe has one of the largest IoT footprints in retail in the U.S. and has set their sights on becoming an international leader.
When downtime isn’t an option
For Cantaloupe and its customers, connectivity is everything. Cantaloupe handles everything from cashless payments, real-time inventory tracking, and dynamic route scheduling to advanced data analytics and fraud prevention—and all of it depends on a reliable network to build customer trust, operational efficiency, and profitability.
Operators often use Cantaloupe to remotely power their back offices. With no one on site to troubleshoot technical failures, it falls on Cantaloupe to maintain a constant digital heartbeat across hundreds of thousands of devices in thousands of locations.
Our business’s number one focus is reliability. Getting a signal down and connectivity in all those locations is absolutely vital.
Jeff Dumbrell, Chief Revenue Officer, 365 Retail Markets
The focus on reliability is compounded by the fact that many of their customers’ devices sit in connectivity “dead zones” such as reinforced office basements, stadium concourses, or remote rural roadsides. More than a technical hiccup, a single dropped connection can stop an operator’s sales in its tracks.
“The worst thing that can happen to one of our operators is to lose connectivity,” Dumbrell said. “If a device is in a football stadium, there are only nine games a year. Miss that window—even for an hour—and 5% of your entire annual sales are lost.”
Apart from reliability, operators also need to guard against the constant threat of fraud. There’s the possibility of someone moving or tampering with unattended machines, which can immediately impact revenue. Scale those risks across hundreds of thousands of machines, and the challenge becomes monumental.
Verizon reaches more areas than any other network carrier we use. Their relationship management is also far superior, so it's a great partnership.
Jeff Dumbrell, Chief Revenue Officer, 365 Retail Markets
A decade-long partnership powers massive IoT scale
To tackle a host of operational challenges and maintain an always-on connection, Cantaloupe partnered with Verizon in 2011, long before most companies considered IoT as a viable business strategy.
At the core of the infrastructure is Verizon’s LTE Cat-M1 IoT network, which delivers highly reliable, low-power connectivity across Cantaloupe’s portfolio of customers and devices. The Cat-M1 provides the penetration and cost-effective 1MB plans they need to keep operators online and revenue flowing in environments where connectivity is traditionally challenging.
“Verizon’s connectivity has proven especially strong in challenging environments. In places like basements, we’ve found that if you use our long-range antenna with their network, it actually works,” said Chief Technology Officer Anton Rakushkin. “That reliability, combined with the fact that Verizon is available in multiple regions where other providers aren’t, are two of the reasons why we chose them.”
Reliability starts at the factory with integrations. Embedding Verizon SIM cards into devices during manufacturing and before shipping bypasses the need for client WiFi or Ethernet, which requires difficult authorizations. Instead, machines are ready to sell upon arrival.
It’s a seamless process for operators. They turn it on, and it’s a plug-and-play experience for them.
Anton Rakushkin, Chief Technology Officer, 365 Retail Markets
Beyond mission-critical uptime, Verizon’s ThingSpace Management Platform allows Cantaloupe to monitor connectivity and device health across the largest scale deployments. Another solution, Verizon’s ThingSpace Coarse Location Services, helps minimize fraud risk by tracking customers’ assets. Instead of relying on GPS, which can drain battery power, the system uses cell-tower triangulation to provide approximate locations.
“Operators have the security and understanding of where their machines are, making this service really valuable,” Dumbrell said.
The partnership also dramatically accelerates hardware deployment. Verizon’s straightforward certification process ensures new devices and modems connect to the network quickly and reliably.
“Verizon’s certification process is much faster than any other provider,” Dumbrell said. “It takes minimal time to get products certified and ready for operators to deploy.”
The worst thing that can happen to one of our operators is to lose connectivity. If a device is in a football stadium, there are only nine games a year. Miss that window—even for an hour—and 5% of your entire annual sales are lost.
Jeff Dumbrell, Chief Revenue Officer, 365 Retail Markets
Moving from concept to market 50% faster
Cantaloupe’s partnership with Verizon scales with them at every turn. From operators deploying equipment with zero friction to millions of consumers using IoT devices seamlessly every day, their ecosystem delivers strong results.
Cantaloupe maintains high network uptime across more than 1.2 million devices. The reliability of Verizon’s infrastructure leads to more revenue for Cantaloupe’s customers, helping power more than $3.4 billion in annual transaction volume.
“Verizon reaches more areas than any other network carrier we use,” Dumbrell said. “Their relationship management is also far superior, so it’s a great partnership.”
Part of a strong partnership involves making life easier for partners. Verizon’s high-velocity certification enables operators to bring new products to market in half the time compared to other providers, capturing revenue sooner and gaining the ability to respond to market opportunities faster.
“Verizon’s certification process is much faster compared to everybody else,” Rakushkin said. “Where it took two months with other providers, Verizon does it 50% faster.”
Meanwhile, modem affordability and flexible pricing models for IoT customers lower hardware costs. Because hardware manufacturers often prioritize Verizon-compatible modems, these components are frequently more cost-effective than those for other carriers—reducing CapEx for operators. When multiplied across hundreds of devices, these savings have an outsized impact on a company’s bottom line.
Bolstered by their Verizon partnership, Cantaloupe is expanding into new spaces. These include AI-enabled Smart Stores, where customers tap a card to enter a shop, select products, and are charged automatically. Verizon can offer the increased data bandwidth and reliability these stores need, giving Cantaloupe the backend support to transform an established industry into a more modern, self-service experience.
“The young generation is moving much more toward a ‘do-not-talk-to-me’ environment. That automatically brings more business to our industry, and it keeps me excited to see how much more advancement we will see in self-service,” Rakushkin said.
As Cantaloupe scales into hospitality, stadiums, and residential complexes, they are building a blueprint for a self-service world.
“When I look at all the new solutions that we're building and launching, it’s incredibly exciting. There’s a lot of innovation happening and our partnership with Verizon supports that,” Dumbrell said.
Verizon's connectivity has proven especially strong in challenging environments. In places like basements...it actually works.
Anton Rakushkin, Chief Technology Officer, 365 Retail Markets
Learn more
ThingSpace
Through its partnership with Verizon, Cantaloupe helps IoT customers scale their businesses with confidence while advancing its own mission to become the global leader in self-service commerce.
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