On November 8, 2025, the "2025 APVA Asia-Pacific Self-Service Vending Industry Summit & Press Conference for the 13th Asian Self-Service Vending & Smart Retail Expo 2026" was held in Guangzhou Pazhou. Guangzhou IMT Technology Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as "IMT") was invited to attend and participated in a salon dialogue with industry pioneers to discuss the future development path of smart retail.

The summit, themed "Navigating Cycles, Shaping a New Journey Together," focused on how to integrate global industry chain resources to help Chinese enterprises connect more efficiently with overseas markets, aggregate international value chains, and promote the steady progress of the industry amidst transformation.

During the summit's sharing session, Mr. Lyu Qiang, General Manager of Guangzhou IMT Technology Co., Ltd., shared the company's practical experience in the global layout of smart retail equipment, citing a real-world case study involving a client from Chicago. He pointed out that as an established enterprise in the smart vending equipment field, it is essential to accurately grasp product positioning, break through homogeneous competition with differentiation, and effectively address customers' core needs. He emphasized that companies should not rely on low-price strategies but should instead focus on the product's performance, stability, and user experience, which are the keys to building long-term competitiveness and winning market share.

The self-service vending and smart retail industry is currently experiencing a concentrated outbreak of multi-dimensional changes. 2025 has become a critical juncture for technological integration, market restructuring, and global expansion. It is predicted that the installed base of China's smart vending machine market will exceed 2 million units by 2025, maintaining a compound annual growth rate of over 15%. From a global perspective, the automatic vending machine market size is also expected to surpass USD 20 billion during the same period, with the Asia-Pacific region being the main growth driver.

The Asia-Pacific self-service vending market is not only thriving within China but also presenting strategic opportunities for brand globalization. As the quality of the Chinese supply chain and its global recognition continue to improve, expanding overseas has become an industry consensus. To promote international collaboration, the summit organizing committee has partnered with industry associations from 16 countries – including Italy, Russia, Germany, Thailand, France, Malaysia, Turkey, and Poland – and hundreds of international industry media outlets to jointly create a high-standard global exchange platform.

While experiencing rapid growth, the industry also faces numerous challenges: including rapidly changing consumer channels, bottlenecks in expanding new scenarios, intense competition stemming from homogenization, and pressure from external business formats like snack discount stores and instant retail. Additionally, issues such as lagging business model upgrades, a shortage of professional talent, and the long cultivation cycle for overseas markets urgently need breakthroughs. Despite this, emerging scenarios, lower-tier markets, and cross-border expansion still open new windows for growth for the industry.

Looking ahead, based on profound insights into the global market and over a decade of industry experience, IMT will continue to drive innovation, committed to developing more market-trend-aligned autonomous intelligent terminals. As a global smart retail solutions provider with eleven years of deep experience in the R&D, production, sales, and scenario-based operational services of smart vending equipment, IMT has clearly defined its direction forward: the company will continue to expand its international business footprint, delve deeper into the application potential of unmanned scenarios, and actively explore the future possibilities of smart vending equipment. On one hand, this aims to bring a more convenient and intelligent shopping experience to global consumers, and on the other hand, to provide operators with high-efficiency, low-cost, one-stop retail solutions, thereby promoting the transformation and upgrading of the entire unmanned retail industry and jointly shaping the next chapter of smart new retail with partners.