More and more of them are being seen because they have overcome mass indifference, becoming a convenient alternative to coffee shops or whoever for them. We are talking about open shops, that is, those spaces where vending machines previously found only in schools or companies, guilty of prolonged intervals and gossipy coffee breaks, have been inserted.
If previously these atriums were occupied by a single vending machine in which one could find tarallini and fruit juices, now market demand has dictated that they be expanded, dedicating the right square footage to hot drinks, divided by 'cold drinks,' divided by the sweet and salty department, often divided by dvd vending machines.
The quality of merchandise, alas, has not varied, as the machines in question are the same as in the past, and tea and coffee, like milk, are powdered, as much as the snacks are bagged chips and packaged croissants. The real news is that the growth of this market has forced the need for at least a more attractive design of the machines and a wider range of products, despite the fact that it is the affordability of the machines that is the real raison d'être, as well as the convenience and speed of service: they now all give change upon payment, and instead of flinging the cans down to the collection point, they are dispensed thanks to a tube that finds them directly in their own row and column and then lays them down gracefully in their proper place so that we can pick them up, avoiding the usual dent or splash derived from their shaking, but more importantly the jamming of the mechanism, which made the items get stuck.
The products, as I anticipate, are the same as in large retailers, but I assure you that abroad (always a step ahead), there are even fresher and healthier ones, or at least tasty ones: hamburgers with a lot of packaging date, sandwiches, muffins and other products of the day, from vegetarian, to superfilled, with the possibility of adding sauces. So if someone in Italy, too, dared to take the next step, we would have fresh, high-quality products offered to a range of customers who are increasingly making their way nowadays: the hurried. No queuing at the bar checkout or worrying about the smog-soaked hot dog from the roadside sandwich shop.
