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Nearly two years since the pandemic, Hong Kong\u2019s retail market continues to struggle. Compared to the same period in 2023, the provisional estimate for the total retail sales value in the first 10 months of 2024 fell by 7.1%. As established brands and chain stores exit, landlords\u2014unwilling to leave storefronts vacant\u2014are opting for lower rents in hopes of attracting tenants. This has allowed short-term claw machine shops to thrive in a declining rental market.<\/p>\n
These small businesses require no long-term planning or durable d\u00e9cor\u2014just a colorful lightbox and a claw machine, whether set to a loose or tight grip, to start the game.<\/p>\n
Despite the Consumer Council\u2019s calls for stricter regulations and complaints about rigged claws, no one knows when the claw machine craze will fade. Yet, for now, enthusiasm remains high\u2014whether among local residents or tourists making special trips to play.<\/p>\n
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Hong Kong\u2019s retail market continues to struggle nearly two years since the pandemic. However, this has allowed short-term claw machine shops to thrive in a declining rental market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,82,81,237,1,246],"tags":[248,10,12],"class_list":["post-7612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classwork-2","category-hku-mj","category-homework","category-hw6","category-uncategorized","category-w6","tag-ai","tag-hku","tag-hku-jmsc"],"yoast_head":"\n