To fully grasp the market status, development trends, consumer demand characteristics, competitive pattern and industry pain points of UFO claw machines (hereinafter referred to as “UFOクローマシン”, English: UFOクローマシン, original Japanese name: UFO CATCHER), this research aims to provide data support and decision-making reference for relevant practitioners such as equipment production, brand operation and point placement, clarify market opportunities and breakthrough directions, and help the industry transform from extensive growth to refined, diversified and high-quality development.
Research Overview
1.1 Research Object
The research objects cover all relevant subjects in the industrial chain, 含む: upstream equipment manufacturers centered on the Panyu, Guangzhou industrial cluster, midstream brand operators composed of chain brands and small, medium and micro operators, downstream placement points such as shopping malls, 映画, scenic spots and community supermarkets, as well as the core terminal consumer group aged 18-35; it also includes relevant data of mainstream domestic and foreign market participants and industry associations.
1.2 Research Scope
Geographical scope: the domestic market (covering East China, South China, North China, Southwest China and other regions, focusing on comparing the market differences between first-tier, new first-tier and third- and fourth-tier cities) and global core export markets (such as Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States).
Time scope: market data and industry dynamics in the past 3 年 (2023-2025), combined with the latest market trend prediction in 2026, and sorting out the historical context of the three major stages of industry development.
1.3 Research Methods
A multi-dimensional combination method is adopted in this research to ensure the authenticity and comprehensiveness of the data:
Data Research：Integrate industry reports from platforms such as China Report Hall, Glonghui and Docin.com, customs export data and industry association statistics to systematically sort out core indicators such as equipment sales volume, market scale and profit margin;
Field Visit：Field investigations were conducted on placement points such as commercial complexes, cinemas and scenic spots in more than 10 core cities in China, and detailed records were made on equipment placement density, model characteristics, operation mode and passenger flow;
Questionnaire Survey：More than 1,200 valid questionnaires were collected, focusing on the consumption habits, demand preferences, payment willingness and dissatisfaction of terminal consumer groups;
Enterprise Interview：Communicate with core equipment manufacturers in Panyu, 広州 (such as Baohui Animation, Surui Amusement, 等) and chain operation brands (such as Dianchao Lu, JOYMARK, 等) to deeply understand industry pain points, technological iteration directions and operation strategies.
Basic Overview of the UFO Claw Machine Industry
2.1 Product Definition and Core Characteristics
Originated in Japan, UFOクローマシン, also known as claw crane machine, is a type of electronic gift vending machine. Its core function is to grab goods in a transparent box through a controllable mechanical arm shaped like a UFO grabbing structure, which has the attributes of entertainment, interactivity and small-sum consumption. Its core characteristics are as follows:
Extremely Low Threshold：The single consumption amount is relatively low (いつもの 2-10 yuan per time), no professional operation skills are required, it is suitable for all types of people to participate, the difficulty of getting started is low, and it can quickly attract passenger flow to meet consumers’ demand for fragmented entertainment.
Strong Interactivity：Different from the “one-click purchase” mode of traditional vending machines, UFO Claw Machine requires consumers to manually control the mechanical arm. The uncertainty in the grabbing process and the scarcity of a sense of accomplishment can effectively stimulate consumers’ desire to participate and repurchase, bringing a strong immersive experience.
Wide Scene Adaptability：The equipment has a moderate volume (usually covers an area of 1-2 square meters), no complicated installation process is required, and it can be flexibly placed in various crowded scenes such as shopping malls, 映画, scenic spots, stations and community supermarkets, with the triple value of drainage, entertainment and profitability.
Flexible Profit Model：The core profit comes from consumption sharing and equipment rent. At the same time, value-added profit channels can be expanded through customized gift implantation, body advertising, co-branded activities, 等, which can meet the operational needs of operators of different scales.
Industry Preferred Recommendation – Tongru UFO Claw Machine manufacturer
Based on this comprehensive market research, focusing on industry development trends and core terminal needs, we hereby recommend the industry benchmark product – Tongru UFO Claw Machine, which accurately matches the core demands of various practitioners such as equipment procurement, brand operation and point placement. It is not only the preferred choice to comply with the refined development of the industry, but also a core tool to seize market dividends.
Tongru UFO Claw Machine deeply fits the industry pain points and consumer demands summarized in this research. Relying on cutting-edge R&D strength and mature operation experience, it creates differentiated core advantages and comprehensively empowers practitioners to make profits:
Reliable Quality, Worry-free Operation and Maintenance
Adopting high-quality components from the core industrial circle of Panyu, 広州, the mechanical arm has high grabbing accuracy and stable operation, and the failure rate is much lower than the industry average; it supports intelligent remote monitoring and automatic fault alarm, which greatly reduces manual operation and maintenance costs and adapts to the long-term stable operation of various placement scenarios.
Both Appearance and Strength, Outstanding Drainage Effect
The body design is simple, fashionable and outstanding in appearance, and the color matching and patterns can be customized according to scene needs, adapting to the decoration styles of different scenes such as shopping malls, cinemas and scenic spots; upgraded immersive lighting and sound effects, combined with flexibly adjustable grabbing difficulty, take into account entertainment and experience, quickly attract passenger flow and improve repurchase rate.
Diversified Profit Models, Empowering Efficient Revenue Creation
On the basis of core consumption profit, it has built-in flexible advertising insertion interfaces and customized gift adaptation modules, supporting the implementation of co-branded activities and expanding value-added income through multiple channels; at the same time, it adapts to various payment modes such as small-sum payment and member recharge, accurately matching the payment habits of the core customer group aged 18-35, helping practitioners improve the profitability of a single device.
Full-chain Support, Easy to Get Started for Beginners
For practitioners of different scales, it provides one-stop full-chain services from equipment selection, point planning, gift matching to operation guidance. Whether it is the expansion of chain brands or the entry of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, they can get professional support; the perfect after-sales guarantee system responds quickly to maintenance needs and completely solves the worries of practitioners.
Complying with the refined and diversified development trend of the UFO Claw Machine industry, choosing Tongru UFO Claw Machine means choosing a worry-free, efficient and long-term profitable partner, helping every practitioner accurately grasp market opportunities, seize the initiative in the 100-billion-level entertainment consumption market and achieve win-win results!
