[hifromwork]

I agree, but in my very walkable european neighbourhood I don't see any vending machines either (except on the train stations, in waiting rooms, etc). Granted, there are small shops every corner, so vending machines don't feel necessary, but sometimes it would be useful to have some.

[wongarsu]

In Germany a lot of vending machines have appeared over the last ~10 years, and there are a lot more popping up all the time. And not just in the big cities. Nowhere as many as in Japan, but for example in my area there's a farmer selling fresh eggs in a vending machine, a meat packaging plant selling meat and sausages, an ice cream/frozen yoghurt vending machine (some local Ben & Jerry's competitor), a bunch of vending machines for CBD stuff, a pizza vending machine at the local university (it makes hot pizza), multiple old shops in pedestrian areas converted to house 5-10 vending machines, etc.

Especially the model of renting shops to fill them with vending machines seems to be getting popular. They regularly get into fights with the city whether they have to obey the legally allowed opening times for stores or can be open 24/7. That and farm shops putting up vending machines.

[Semaphor]

Which city is that? Here in the city center of Lübeck, I see none of those. And only one new-ish traditional vending machine.

[ido]

I’ve lived in Berlin for the last 11 years and have never seen the phenomena you describe (I wish I had them in my neighbourhood!)

[gorbypark]

I think it has to do with available space, as other commenters have mentioned. Here in Valencia, Spain, there's a huge amount of unused "retail" space. Most of the city is 5-7 floor apartment buildings with the ground floor being designed for retail / parking / etc. There are many building, outside of the city center that were built years ago with their ground floors sitting empty since day 1. Many spots that were occupied at some point are sitting empty as well. It's pretty cheap to buy or lease a space. Anyways, in the last 5 years or so there has been a lot of spots being converted into vending machine spots. Basically a small area of retail space, no front door or wall, and maybe 4 or more vending machines in it. I've noticed sometimes even some cafes are carving out a little spot of their frontage to install a few machines.

[smatija]

In Slovenia local farmers started using vending machines for homegrown milk, eggs, pig fat and similiar produce. While they were very rare just a few years ago, now they are very commonplace, even in smaller towns.