How Do Shared Massage Chairs Make Money?

Shared massage chairs are typically deployed in shopping malls and similar locations either through a venue rental fee (100–200 RMB per unit) or via a revenue-sharing partnership (ranging from 20% to 40%, with some deals going up to 65%). Based on estimates, at an average cost of 4,000 RMB per chair, with three users per day paying 10 RMB per session, the payback period is about six months—after which it’s essentially passive rental income. That’s why many people get drawn into this business.

The theoretical lifespan is three years, but in practice, the average cost recovery period is just one year, followed by a year of profit, after which most chairs are practically worn out by the third year (as everyone knows, the lifespan listed in manuals tends to be optimistic).

Then the pandemic’s three-year risk controls pushed most operators into debt, several brand investors exited the market, leaving almost only Lemob as the dominant player (and even reaching the top tier, its profits amounted to roughly 150 million RMB).

Where Does the Money from Massage Chairs Go? We Figured It Out