Vending machines enjoy a boom in Hong Kong as coronavirus drives sales of face masks, instant meals

Some shopping mall and office landlords are slashing the rent they charge for vending machines because they enable transactions without physical contact and draw traffic

Operators like FreshUp and EC Bento have seen demand surging, while traditional shops struggle to survive

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Vending machines have enjoyed a surge in popularity in Hong Kong during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Lam Ka-sing

Published: 8:30am, 21 Oct 2020Updated: 8:57am, 21 Oct 2020

While traditional retailers are struggling to survive by scaling down or shutting their Hong Kong stores, vending machines are enjoying something of a boom.

Some shopping mall and office landlords are slashing the rent they charge operators to install their machines in prominent areas, because they enable transactions without physical contact and draw traffic.

Vending machines selling lunchboxes and surgical masks have recorded brisk sales during the Covid-19 crisis, a trend never seen in Hong Kong before.

EC Bento has got around the rent issue entirely by arranging to provide landlords with market data in exchange for setting up in their space. The new company has recently installed vending machines selling hot lunchboxes at 20 locations including Exchange Square and New World Tower in Central. Some landlords request discounts or coupons for tenants.

“Frankly speaking, a vending machine may occupy [an area the size of] two tiles. How much rent can they charge me? They cannot possibly charge me HK$100,000 (US$12,902) for that, right?” said founder Jerry Lam. “They may only get a few thousand [in rent] from the two tiles. But getting big data for tenant analysis may be even more important to developers.”