Chinese Blind Box Market Needs Regulating

Abstract

China's rapidly developing economy and the sound Internet era have had an integral influence on the prosperity and rise of the blind box industry. This paper focuses on the lack of market regulation and the corresponding adjustments that need to be made in the context of the era of blind box emergence. The blind box market has expanded exponentially since 2015 and is expected to reach 30 billion by 2024. Not only are blind boxes widely accepted in China, but the consumer base is also diverse. Pop Mart, the hottest blind box toy company, has also made huge profits in the past few years. However, the lack of regulation in the blind box market has become a widespread phenomenon, with most blind box companies facing thousands of unresolved complaints on consumer websites, as well as the existence of some blind boxes that go against ethics. In this regard, the market should be clear regulatory requirements, the government should improve supervision, set a red line for the blind box market.

Unboxing the Chinese Blind Boxes among China’s grown-up missing children: Probabilistic and elastic prosumption through mediated collection, exchange and resale of figurines

“…They suggest that the government needs to regulate Blind Box companies so as to eliminate consumer victimization. Although Fu and Zhao (2022) also argue that the growth of the Blind Box market means problems such as fraud and ethical lapse deriving from the lack of laws and regulations to supervise the development of the boxes. As the dangers of gambling associated with Blind Box collection have already been well established in previous research, our focus is instead on the socio-cultural and agentic factors that influence the emerging adult collector, including cultural capital and sociality, individuality, and investment.…”

“…However, Fu and Zhao (2022) also found that 49.70% of Blind Box consumers are Millenial white-collar workers (those individuals born between 1981 and 1996). This supports the fact that the main Blind Box consumer groups are made up largely of young white-collar and Gen-Z individuals (Fu and Zhao, 2022). In our study, it is both Gen-Z and Millenial consumers that we are interested in, whereby Blind Boxes serve as channels for adult nostalgia (Cross, 2002), which we term ‘the grown-up missing child’ – those generations who had insufficient resources to access such objects during childhood (see literature review for further explanation).…”

“…Rather, we aim to examine both the social and individual motivations reflected from the Blind Box collection in China. Fu and Zhao (2022) found that over 28.60% of Blind Box consumers are Gen-Z (those individuals born between 1997 and 2012). However, Fu and Zhao (2022) also found that 49.70% of Blind Box consumers are Millenial white-collar workers (those individuals born between 1981 and 1996).…”

“…Fu and Zhao (2022) found that over 28.60% of Blind Box consumers are Gen-Z (those individuals born between 1997 and 2012). However, Fu and Zhao (2022) also found that 49.70% of Blind Box consumers are Millenial white-collar workers (those individuals born between 1981 and 1996). This supports the fact that the main Blind Box consumer groups are made up largely of young white-collar and Gen-Z individuals (Fu and Zhao, 2022).…”

Marketing Strategy Analysis of POP MART in the Chinese Market

“…Additionally, it can add new chapters to each character series, enhancing the product value. POP MART can become a business just like Disney by relying on a single IP, such as Molly, and it needs more "Molly" to prove itself [6].…”