Soda vending machines used to be all over the place. What exactly happened? Each time I attempt to find soda or snack vending machines my options seem to have been whittled away over the years. It used to be that a vending machine made its way to most store fronts and often there would be random ones in apartment buildings and offices. These days it would seem that there is a national war on being able to buy a bag of Skittles and a Mountain Dew.
I love getting my snacks from vending machines, not for any reason in particular but the wait is rarely equal to that of the local Duane Reade and even when the line seems long it moves way faster. On top of that I simply find the ability to go into a machine and pick out a few options way simpler than the extensive browsing that supermarkets, drug stores, and malls tend to beg of you.
The vending machine is a fundamental part of my American retail experience and I think there should be more of them in a wider variety of spaces. Like the old days, when buying a soda meant hitting up a machine most of the time.