diff --git a/cubed/storage/virtual.py b/cubed/storage/virtual.py
index 2c98d3ad..de7baccc 100644
--- a/cubed/storage/virtual.py
+++ b/cubed/storage/virtual.py
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ def __getitem__(self, key):
             newshape, fill_value=self.fill_value, dtype=self.dtype
         )
 
+    @property
+    def chunkmem(self):
+        # take broadcast trick into account
+        return array_memory(self.dtype, (1,))
+
 
 class VirtualOffsetsArray:
     """An array that is never materialized (in memory or on disk) and contains sequentially incrementing integers."""