Possession Desire 10000%... Goods That Trigger a 'Sold Out' Streak

Tumblers, Mugs, Keychains, and More
Collaborations with Hallyu Stars, Games, and Characters
Sold Out and 'Open Run' Craze Draw Hotels to Join In

It is an era where people participate in open runs (lining up as soon as the store opens) to buy goods. Ten years ago, goods only played the role of freebies given when purchasing products. For example, when buying a stick coffee product, a mug cup to drink the coffee was given together as one of the marketing strategies of food companies to increase the sales of stick coffee. Over time, the types of goods gradually diversified, and as collectors emerged, a goods craze swept through the distribution industry. Now, companies even create dedicated goods departments and carry out the entire process from idea planning to production, distribution, and sales of goods, which takes several months. Recently, they have been evolving by creating more diverse forms of goods through collaborations with Hallyu stars, games, and animations.

10 Types of Collaboration Goods between Starbucks and BLACKPINK.
[Photo by Starbucks]

According to the distribution industry on the 2nd, Starbucks launched 10 collaborative goods including tumblers, bags, passport cases, and keychains in partnership with K-pop star BLACKPINK starting from the 25th of last month, with 95% of the items sold out early on the first day. On the second day, all prepared stock was sold out. In particular, some stores had long waiting lines before opening to purchase limited edition products such as the 95,000 won tumbler sold one per offline store, and customers flocked to some stores in areas with many foreign tourists such as Myeongdong and Hongdae in Seoul.

Ediya Coffee released goods including two types of snack plates and two types of hood towels in collaboration with Sanrio Korea's Sanrio Characters, and the three drinks and one cookie menu launched together surpassed 300,000 sales within 10 days of release.

Franchise brands of SPC Group such as Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin', and The Venti are stimulating consumers' desire to collect by releasing goods in collaboration with Pok?mon.

Department stores are also enthusiastically engaging in goods marketing targeting family customers. In 2019, Lotte Home Shopping's self-developed 'Bellygom' attracted over 2 million visitors to external exhibitions alone and has now established itself as Lotte Group's representative character. Lotte Group began officially selling related goods from March last year, with cumulative sales reaching 20 billion won.

Hyundai Department Store's representative character 'Heundi' is also expanding its brand image by introducing various goods such as hand fans, coin wallets, and eco bags.

As the goods craze continues, the hotel industry is gradually joining in. 'Draco,' developed by Seoul Dragon City, is a representative example. Draco is a character developed with the concept of a 'baby fairy who wants to become a dragon,' and related goods such as fans and grip talks began selling in March. Last month's sales revenue increased by 2000% compared to March, the launch month.

Various goods featuring Lotte Homeshopping's Bellygom are being sold at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, USA, last June.
[Photo by Lotte Homeshopping]

The distribution industry cites consumers' enthusiasm for goods as stemming from the desire to collect, the competitive psychology arising from 'limited quantities,' and the superiority, vanity, and desire for display gained from owning them. A recent survey on 'goods trends' conducted by a job portal targeting 2,128 MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) respondents found that 81.3% responded positively to the goods trend. The biggest reason was 'because of the feeling of owning limited edition products' (58.8%).

This phenomenon is spreading even faster because the MZ generation, the main consumers, are an age group that actively communicates through social networking services (SNS). Simply posting a certification shot of purchasing goods on SNS or writing a preview post about buying can stimulate the purchasing desire of other consumers.

Professor Lee Young-ae of the Department of Consumer Studies at Incheon National University said, "The recent goods marketing trend in the distribution industry should be seen as a result of the consumption tendencies of the MZ generation, who are more proactive than anyone else in areas they are interested in." She added, "With the development of SNS and others, goods that were once the exclusive domain of a small group of enthusiasts have spread more rapidly to the general public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.