Editing Vending machine (section)

===Modern vending machines===
[[File:Automatic Stamp and Postcard Vending Machine.jpg|thumb|upright|An automatic stamp and postcard vending machine, made by Takashichi Tawaraya in 1904 in Japan<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.teipark.jp/e_about.html|title=What's "Tei-Park"?|access-date=5 June 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629062547/http://www.teipark.jp/e_about.html|archive-date=29 June 2013}}</ref>]]
The first modern coin-operated vending machines were introduced in [[London]], [[England]], in the early 1880s, dispensing [[postcard]]s. The machine was invented by Percival Everitt in 1883 and soon became a widespread feature at railway stations and post offices, dispensing [[envelopes]], [[postcard]]s, and [[notepaper]]. The Sweetmeat Automatic Delivery Company was founded in 1887 in England as the first company to deal primarily with installing and maintaining vending machines. Also at about that time in England, Dixon Henry Davies and inventor John Mensy Tourtel patented a coin-operated reading lamp for use on trains and founded the Railway Automatic Electric Light Syndicate, Ltd. The system ran off batteries and delivered 30 minutes of light for [[penny (British pre-decimal coin)|1d.]], but was not a long-term success. Tourtel also invented a similarly coin-operated [[fuel gas|gas]] meter.<ref>{{cite magazine|periodical=Underground News|publisher=London Underground Railway Society|issn=0306-8617|date=October 2022|issue=730|pages=605–617|title='Railway Automatic Electric Light Works', Bollo Lane|author=David Knights}}</ref> In 1893, [[Stollwerck]], a German chocolate manufacturer, was selling its chocolate in 15,000 vending machines. It set up separate companies in various territories to manufacture vending machines to sell not just chocolate, but cigarettes, matches, chewing gum, and soap products.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=Alfred|title=Scale and scope: the dynamics of industrial capitalism|year=2004|publisher=Belknap Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-674-78995-1|pages=398–402|edition=1. paperback ed., 7. print.}}</ref>

The first vending machine in the U.S. was built in 1888 by the [[Thomas Adams Gum Company]],<ref name="NAMA History">{{cite web|author1=National Automatic Merchandising Association|author-link1=National Automatic Merchandising Association|title=History of Vending and Coffee Services|url=https://namanow.org/vending/history-of-vending-and-coffee-service|access-date=27 October 2016|archive-date=3 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203154253/https://www.namanow.org/vending/history-of-vending-and-coffee-service|url-status=dead}}</ref> selling gum on New York City train platforms. The idea of adding games to these machines as a further incentive to buy came in 1897 when the Pulver Manufacturing Company added small figures, which would move around whenever somebody bought some gum from their machines. This idea spawned a whole new type of mechanical device known as the "[[trade stimulator]]s".

====Growth====
The vending machine industry in the United States is a multi-billion dollar sector. In 2023, it was estimated to be worth $18.2 billion, with approximately 3 million machines generating an average monthly revenue of $525. However, this is an average, and the industry is trending toward more sophisticated and automated vending machines, particularly in North America.

This trend is driven by the increasing demand for convenience and the development of advanced technologies. For instance, the hot food vending machine sector is valued at $4.8 billion and is seeing significant growth as [[robotics]] companies introduce automated solutions for dispensing pasta, burgers, and groceries. The broader [[fresh food]] vending segment is projected to reach $8 billion by 2029, offering consumers more options for nutritious and convenient meals and snacks.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sisson | first=Patrick | title=The vending machine industry is getting hot | website=Sherwood News | date=2024-10-29 | url=https://sherwood.news/business/vending-machine-industry-ramping-sodexo-aramark/ | access-date=2024-10-31}}</ref>