Consumers queue up to enter pop-up stores

Heshenghui Mingchuang Youpin Store

Anime IP humanoid signboard

Laika's' Pain Pack '

In this hot summer, the anime (virtual worlds such as animation and games) IP not only "bloomed" in the form of flash stores (temporary shops), but also created many "valley stores" (stores specializing in anime derivatives) in shopping malls around the city, quietly changing the city's shopping landscape. In front of these "grain shops", you can always see "grain eaters" holding various IP dolls and queuing up with bags full of metal badges. In the context of the rapid rise of anime IP marketing, shopping malls are no longer just shopping places, but also become one of the important platforms for young people's cultural consumption and emotional resonance.

Anime drives consumption

On the first day of opening, the pop-up store attracted over 150000 foot traffic

On a weekday afternoon in late July, a pop-up store located on the B2 floor of Chaoyang Heshenghui was bustling with people. This shop is called "Little Dog's Beijing Tour" and is filled with colorful plush toys, small ornaments, and pillows. Most of the customers who came and went with shopping baskets in one hand and plastic wrappers in the other hand, happily checking the neatness of the lines on the face of a toy dog, and selecting the most "beautiful" toy from rows of identical toys.

The toy dog that young people are obsessed with is called "Line Dog". It is understood that the two puppies in this IP are the Maltese and Golden Retriever, with simple lines and lively and cute expressions. Their warm and healing cute pet images have won the love of a large number of fans.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned from Heshenghui Shopping Mall that the "Little Dog's Journey to Beijing" pop-up store attracted over 150000 foot traffic on its first day of opening. In order to guide customer flow, the shopping mall has set up several rows of isolation belts and telescopic railings around the pop-up stores.

According to Chaoyang Heshenghui, the difference between IP based marketing models such as the "Line Puppy" flash sale and traditional sales promotion activities is that the former emphasizes enhancing brand image and attractiveness by introducing well-known IPs, focusing on emotional resonance with consumers - that is, interest consumption, and more precise target customer groups; The latter relies on direct incentives such as price discounts. In recent two years, Chaoyang Heshenghui has held nearly 50 anime IP offline activities. From the various IP flash events held in shopping malls in recent years, this IP based marketing model has become increasingly popular among young people.

In the first half of this year, the sales of the anime top stream IP "chiikawa" themed flash event in the spring of Chaoyang Joy City exceeded 11 million yuan in the first week, which also proved the huge energy of IP enabled commerce.

According to iResearch data, the scale of China's anime industry will grow by 27.6% to 221.9 billion yuan in 2023, showing a strong consumption momentum.

It is understood that there are 69 shopping malls in China involved in the anime commercial project, and some of them will invest in the whole floor or even two floors of the project. The anime economy booms again and again.

Anime wind blows offline

More and more pop-up stores and "valley stores" are emerging in shopping malls

The anime, which was once regarded as a minority culture, is now sweeping forward unstoppably, and the combination with offline shopping malls is even more "breaking the wall". Behind this phenomenon is the rise of the "millet economy".

The so-called "millet economy" refers to an economic phenomenon formed around the anime culture and its derivatives. This phenomenon is mainly driven by young consumers represented by the post-95s and post-00s. They express their love for specific cultures or roles by purchasing peripheral goods with anime IP attributes.

Laika (pseudonym), who is 22 years old this year, is a college student. When she was in junior high school, she began to contact the anime culture and became a anime fan. Before 2022, Leica claimed that 90% of its "guzi" were purchased from official online stores or second-hand trading platforms. In the past two years, Leica apparently felt the anime wind suddenly blowing offline, and more and more anime flash stores and "valley stores" began to emerge in the streets and shopping malls of Beijing.

According to the White Paper on China's anime Content Industry, the number of anime users will reach 490 million in 2023, including 120 million core anime users. Offline 'eating grains' has become a trend. Leica witnessed the "broken wall" journey of anime culture. From the cross-border cooperation between KFC and Beyond the World, to the creative co branding of Pizzahut and Back to the Future 1999, Leica's footprint has also followed the flash mob activities of major brands and anime IP co branding.

Laika basically goes offline to "eat grain" with her like-minded people every month. Recently, Laika just went to Chaoyang Joy City to check-in for the joint event of "Love of Light and Night" and Holiland Cake. At the entrance of the cake store, there is a human shaped sign with anime IP for consumers to take a group photo; During the event, the cake shop also launched a series of products packaged with game elements. This business model has become a new marketing strategy for some brand stores.

Laika's friends have also checked in for the joint event of Qiaqia Guazi and "The Traveler in Time and Space". It is understood that these co branded products are usually sold in the form of gift boxes. The gift box is beautifully packaged, printed with the anime IP pattern, and contains the surrounding goods of the relevant characters. In Leika's view, this is a kind of bundling sales. "You can only get the anime surrounding inside by buying a gift box." So, Leika's friend bought a whole box of melon seeds gift box that day, and she herself is a person who doesn't eat melon seeds at all.

Compared with buying "millet" online, for anime fans like Lycra, the advantage of offline "eating grain" is not only that good things are available and can be won on the spot at the right price, but more importantly, offline "eating grain" has a better experience, "which is also a kind of spiritual enjoyment."

Laika believes that eating with friends on site is actually a process of deepening communication. "We can share our understanding of different works, observe the 'pain bags' of people around us (bags decorated with a lot of anime derivatives), and meet more like-minded friends by the way. In contrast, online communication is only limited to the chat box while holding the mobile phone."

New social bonds

Communicate and share each other's preferences with unfamiliar netizens through group buying

Laika's journey of "eating grain" is not limited to participating in brand joint flash events, she is also a regular customer of "grain stores".

Looking back at the several places she often visits, such as Bugushe in Beixinqiao, Xidaokou Xifanli, Xidan Joy City, and Chaoyang Joy City, Laika felt that the shopping malls in Beijing were about to be "submerged" by the grain shops.

Laika specifically mentioned the Joyful Shopping Center in Wangfujing, where there is almost an entire floor of "Valley Store". According to Leica's usual shopping process, if there is only half a day, Leica will probably spend most of the time soaking in the high concentration layer of the "grain store", and then take a small amount of time to go upstairs for a meal.

Laika and her friends often prioritize commercial districts with "grain shops" for leisure or dining on weekdays.

There is also a popular meme among "grain eaters": "Eat first, then eat grain", which roughly advises everyone to consume rationally, first ensure basic living needs, and then use leisure money to "eat grain". However, in Laika's case, it has become "eating grain at the same time".

However, Leica also noticed that the homogenization of "valley stores" in shopping malls is quite serious, with "popular IPs repeatedly appearing and lacking diversity. ”Leica said that, despite this, she was still pleased with the integration of anime culture into mainstream life. "When minority culture is integrated into mainstream life, we anime fans can finally find a sense of belonging offline."

Laika enjoys spending time communicating with like-minded friends, sharing and appreciating each other's preferences together. For example, when she draws her favorite blind box badge, she will happily share it on the same day. "This instant sharing will double the joy," Leica said.

This blind box badge extraction is not just a simple consumption behavior in the "valley circle", sometimes it can even be seen as a social bond. Unfamiliar netizens form groups to communicate and share their preferences for different roles; And when they draw badges they don't like, they can also exchange them with each other. With this back and forth, friendship began to sprout.

Shaping Urban Trendy Landmarks

Introduce the anime business type to build a diversified business scenario

In the wave of anime culture, some shopping malls have begun to become a link between young consumers and urban culture, not only reaching the young generation, but also creating a trend landmark with a strong sense of cultural belonging for the city.

In December 2018, Xidan Joy City teamed up with Pop Mart to hold the PUCKY Wonderland Theme Exhibition. PUCKY's new series made its debut at the theme exhibition, attracting thousands of fans to queue up at the mall entrance overnight.

In 2021, at Vanke City Plaza in Dongguan, Guangdong, a 6-meter-high "Xiaolan" balloon doll stood outside the pop-up store of "Xiaolan and His Friends", attracting the attention of passersby. The store displays a variety of peripheral products, including dolls, stickers, film, and standing signs. The exhibition area also features a "Versatile Little Blue Emoji COS Grand Prize Wall" and a "Beating Little Blue" decompression area, which is full of interactivity and fun.

It is reported that in the first half of this year, the passenger flow during the ZANMANGLOOPY flash mob in Xidan Joy City increased by 14% month on month; Tianjin Joy City labubu - THEMONSTERS is the first nationwide exhibition of my series of themed flash mobs, with a total passenger flow exceeding 3.85 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.6%.

According to the relevant person in charge of Joy City Holding's business in the northern region, the introduction of the anime business model, in addition to driving passenger flow and sales, pays more attention to the mutual attraction and communication of various circles of enthusiasts, and hopes to constantly interact and resonate with young people through high-quality content and activities.

In the future, they will continue to help the development of the real economy through the introduction and excavation of the anime format, build a diversified, novel and unique business scene, and finally present the IP feast of youth trend+local cultural innovation and integration.

Beijing Chaoyang Heshenghui also revealed its future operational strategy to a reporter from Beiqing Daily: it will continue to focus on young people, continuously introduce top national and global IP flash mobs, and expand the middle-class market through investment iteration, striving to create a dynamic and charming activity scene and IP ecosystem, as a powerful engine for them to sprint for this year's "economic king".

As for the anime IP marketing strategy of commercial real estate, Pan Helin, a well-known economist and member of the Information and Communication Economy Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, believes that the anime IP marketing strategy is not only effective, but also will be further expanded in the We Media era, forming a broader communication effect.

Pan Helin also stressed that the competitive advantage of offline shopping malls lies in experience, and anime activities can provide a unique cultural experience and attract customers to stop.

Jiang Han, a senior researcher of Pangu Think Tank, pointed out that the core of the anime IP marketing of shopping malls that can accurately attract young consumers lies in accurately capturing young people's consumption psychology and interest preferences.

"Young people pursue individuality, freshness and unique experience, and anime culture can just meet these needs. anime IP can create unique consumption scenes and experiences through its unique world view, role setting and story, attracting young consumers to clock in and interact. ”Jiang Han believes that the combination of anime culture and commercial real estate is also a reflection of commercial innovation and cultural integration.

Jiang Han pointed out that the anime IP marketing of shopping malls is not without challenges. Among them, the rise in IP authorization fees, rapid changes in consumer interests, and sustained resource investment in event planning and promotion have become practical issues that shopping malls need to face.

Jiang Han suggests that shopping malls should focus on converting short-term traffic into long-term customers, continuously innovate and optimize activity strategies, closely monitor the consumption habits of young people, and provide products and services that meet their needs. In addition, they should strengthen cross-border cooperation with other fields, expand consumer groups, and achieve dual expansion of brand and market

Reporter Wang Jingyi from this newspaper

(Beijing Youth Daily)