Patent ID: 7711658

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving, by a vending machine, an indication of a product requested for purchase by a customer; receiving, by the vending machine, an indication of payment provided by the customer for the purchase of the product; determining, by the vending machine, and after the receiving of the request by the customer, an available quantity of the product within the vending machine; determining, by the vending machine, that the available quantity of the product is sufficient to satisfy the request of the customer; dispensing, via the vending machine, and after the determination that the available quantity of the product is sufficient to satisfy the request of the customer, the requested product to the customer; determining, via the vending machine, and after the dispensing of the requested product, and based at least in part on information of surrounding environmental conditions received from a sensor of the vending machine, that a current price of the product requires evaluation; determining, via the vending machine, and after the determination that the current price of the product requires evaluation, a change in demand associated with the product; determining, via the vending machine, a demand increment; determining, via the vending machine, that the change in demand is greater than the demand increment; and determining, via the vending machine, and after the determination that the change in demand is greater than the demand increment, an updated price for the product, the updated price being different than the current price associated with the product.