Coffee Vending Co.: Sales Trends and Customer Behavior Insights

Problem Statement

Coffee Vending Co. is a fast-growing automated beverage business offering specialty coffee and chocolate drinks through self-service vending machines. Serving thousands of daily commuters, office workers, and mall-goers, the company has experienced consistent momentum driven by rising demand for quick-service beverages and cashless transactions.

The available dataset spans over 115,000 sales records and 3,600+ customer transactions, capturing detailed information on product performance, seasonal sales cycles, hourly demand patterns, payment behavior, and customer purchase preferences.

This review provides actionable insights that Operations, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams can leverage to optimize machine uptime, product mix, and customer experience.

View Interactive Dashboard

View Interactive Dashboard

View Interactive Dashboard

Ask

How can we understand our coffee vending machine’s sales performance to identify top-selling products, peak sales times, and payment preferences?

Prepare

This dataset contains detailed records of coffee sales from a vending machine.
The vending machine is the work of a dataset author who is committed to providing an open dataset to the community.
It is intended for analysis of purchasing patterns, sales trends, and customer preferences related to coffee products.


Data set from Kaggle

🔗:https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/ihelon/coffee-sales

Process

Cleaned the data in Excel:

  • Cleaned the data in Excel:

    • Removed duplicates and blank entries

    • Standardized date/time format

    • Created calculated fields:

      • Extracted Month and Hour from the timestamp

🔑 Key Insights and Findings

1. Latte Is the Primary Revenue Driver

Latte contributes the highest sales, generating nearly twice the revenue of the next leading product. This signals a strong customer preference for premium, milk-based beverages a critical factor for inventory and pricing strategies.

2. Peak Sales Occur in March and During Morning Hours

Monthly sales analysis reveals a seasonal lift in March, with moderate declines mid-year before recovering in September–October.

Across all days, 10AM–11AM is the strongest hour, indicating demand is deeply tied to mid-morning caffeine habits. This insight is essential for optimizing refills, machine servicing, and product availability.

3. Monday and Tuesday Mornings Drive the Highest Weekly Sales

Morning time blocks (6AM–11AM) on Mondays and Tuesdays consistently outperform other weekday segments. This pattern reflects commuter traffic and workplace routines, making early-week machine uptime critical to revenue retention.

4. Customer Payment Behavior Is Heavily Card-Dominant

A striking 97% of customers pay via card, confirming that cash usage is nearly obsolete. This insight supports the company’s decision to prioritize digital payment reliability and reduce cash maintenance overhead.

🎯 Strategic Recommendations

1. Prioritize Latte Inventory & Machine Calibration

Given its outsized performance, ensuring ingredient availability (milk, syrups) and consistent taste quality can significantly reduce revenue loss.

2. Reinforce Mid-Morning Availability

Machines should be fully stocked and serviced before 10AM to maximize peak-hour sales.

3. Deploy Monday/Tuesday Micro-Promotions

Boost early-week momentum with loyalty points or “Buy 2 for X” deals to capitalize on the strongest foot traffic.

Payment Optimization 💳

  • Since nearly all purchases are via card, maintain and prioritize cashless payment functionality

  • Consider offering loyalty points or digital discounts to boost repeat sales

Vending Strategy☕

The dashboard shows clear peak hours, especially at 10 AM, 9 AM, and 4 PM. To keep things running smoothly:

  • Restock most frequently sold drinks like Lattes and Americanos more often

  • Ensure machine capacity during peak times (mid-morning and late afternoon)

  • Identify slower-selling items like Cocoa or Cortado for potential removal or discounting

Menu and Product Strategy 🥤

Sales reveal the top performers: Lattes, Americanos with Milk, and Cappuccinos. Meanwhile, Espresso, Cortado, and Cocoa lag behind.

  • Feature top performers (e.g., Latte, Cappuccino) in promotions or bundles.

  • Use time-based or seasonal offers during known high-sales months like March

Payment Optimization 💳

  • Since nearly all purchases are via card, maintain and prioritize cashless payment functionality

  • Consider offering loyalty points or digital discounts to boost repeat sales

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