"What is a collectible toy? For many people, when it comes to collectible toys, they may immediately think of products like blind boxes. In fact, blind boxes are just one of the many categories of collectible toys." On the morning of November 2, as China One of the important events of the four exhibitions hosted by the Play Association (CTE China Toys Exhibition, CLE China Authorized Exhibition, CKE China Baby Products Exhibition, CPE China Early Childhood Education Exhibition), the 2022 China Trend and Collectible Toys Innovation and Development Summit Forum was held in Chengdu Xibo City .
In the guest sharing session of the forum, Chen Wei, the founder of 52TOYS, a well-known domestic collectible toy brand, threw a question at the scene, and then shared his views on collectible toys, "Collectible toys are not only a consumer product, it actually carries people's interest and The carrier of spirit, many overseas consumers of collectible toys are buying collectible toys from childhood to old age, it can bring emotion, companionship, memories, and also has social functions.”
The development of collectible toys is closely related to economic development. With the improvement of consumption level, the consumer demand for collectible toys increases.
In the current collectible toy market, which products are favored?
How to innovate the product marketing path?
This forum gives the "answer".
The multi-blind box of collectible toys is just the tip of the iceberg
"Don't just focus on trendy and blind box toys, there are actually many types of collectible toys!" In the sharing session, Chen Wei put forward his understanding of collectible toys.
In his opinion, figures, deformations, mechas, assembled models, action figures, etc. are all forms of collectible toys. Different materials, sizes, and creative forms carry different styles and themes. Collectible toys have a variety of products. The form can meet the needs of different players, bringing happiness, companionship, and healing to everyone. It is even a social carrier that integrates into public life and reflects a collection feeling. "Blind box is just the tip of the iceberg in the collection of toys. However, many people did start to collect interest in other types of toys from collecting blind boxes."
How hot is the market for collectible toys?
Chen Wei shared a set of data. According to Analysys' analysis and forecast, the domestic collectible toy market will exceed 150 billion yuan in 2025, with over 100 million core users. The huge consumer group supports the collectible toy market.
"In fact, the domestic collectible toy market has risen in recent years. From the perspective of development stage, 2010 is the cultivation period of the domestic collectible toy market, 2019 is the growth period, and it is expected to enter the explosive period in 2025." Chen Wei analyzed that domestic collectible toys market At present, the users of collectible toys are mainly concentrated under the age of 35. The first- and second-tier cities account for a large proportion of users. The third- and fourth-tier cities have a significant growth rate, which contains huge business opportunities. From the perspective of gender, domestic toy collection users account for a larger proportion of males; from the price point Look, the price level of products is very diverse; from the perspective of user age distribution, as the collection of toys becomes more diverse and meets the needs of users of different ages, the distribution of user age needs will be more even. "Overseas, many people continue to collect from childhood to old age. Toys, immersed in the fun of collecting toys for a lifetime.”
Hundreds of billions of market opportunities
Which products are favored?
Faced with the prospect of a market exceeding 100 billion yuan, how do toy manufacturers and IP development operators divide the "cake" in the 100 billion yuan market?
In Chen Wei's view, content development is crucial.
"Each toy IP brand can be realized with different design styles and product forms. Don't focus on one style. From the source of toy IP brands, it can be developed by toy companies themselves, or obtained IP brands from upstream companies. Authorization." Chen Wei said that from the perspective of the experience of collecting toys, in recent years, collectible toys have shown a trend of larger size and more accessories.
The collectible toy market also shows more development trends. Among them, DIY, "national trend", designer toys and other categories are more and more popular among consumers, and the price is also continuing to rise.
Chen Wei revealed that in the collectible toy market, collectible toys based on traditional cultural elements such as Tang Dynasty ladies, Terracotta Warriors and Sanxingdui are favored by the market.
"Amplify the attributes of the circle and realize the breaking of the circle." Zhang Keshuai, general manager of Bilibili's e-commerce business department, believes that with the rise of "national tide", some collectible toys developed and produced with the help of traditional cultural factors are more likely to come out. It also brings more product experience to consumers. He also suggested that the digital empowerment of products should be strengthened. "For example, IP brand developers and toy companies can pay attention to some communication 'stalks' on the Internet to understand certain What is the audience paying attention to? What do they like? On this basis, product development and production are more effective than simply advertising.”
The rise of the hand-made product market
How to do good marketing?
As a boutique category of collectible toys, the IP development and operation of hand-made products have attracted the attention of the guests on the spot.
According to the 2021 iResearch China Gen Z figure consumption trend research report, figures are a classic category of collectible toys, and the Chinese consumer market is growing steadily. In 2020, the size of the Chinese figure market is 3.66 billion yuan.
In the guest sharing session, Feng Debin, vice president of GoodSmile China Group, analyzed that with the new wave of China's collectible toy consumption market upgrade and the rise of Guochao figures, the potential user group of figures is constantly expanding, and the continuous popularity of the trendy toy market is also It has injected a shot in the arm for the design and production of upstream figures. It is estimated that the market size of Chinese figures will exceed 9.1 billion yuan in 2023.
Which figurines are favored by the market?
"At present, in the figure market, some overseas figures with mature markets and perfect supply chains have a certain first-mover advantage and have always been widely welcomed by Chinese figure players." Feng Debin analyzed that just as overseas figure products flooded into China At the same time as the market, with the rise of the "national trend" in recent years, Guochuang IP figures are actively innovating and expanding in planning, design, craftsmanship and sales platforms. The huge sales potential of Guochao figures is being transformed into the development of the figure market. , more and more Gen Z have gradually become the main force of the hand-made consumer market.
"As a true presentation of the world view behind the IP, consumers have a very high emotional investment in a specific IP. Therefore, in addition to the IP theme factor, Gen Z consumers also attach great importance to the viewing and collection value of the figure, which improves the quality of workmanship. and modeling design requirements.” Feng Debin revealed that an industry trend in the current figure market is that with the increase in female spending power, themes that women love are also quietly occupying the figure market, and as more figures are consumed in the future With the addition of users, the female figure market also has huge potential.
Figures are just one category among many collectible toys. On the whole, to grow and develop the collectible toy industry, content development and marketing need to be done well.
A collectible toy has to go through IP brand development and product manufacturing, and marketing is the "last step" for a product to enter the market.
In Chen Wei's view, in addition to online sales, offline marketing is also very important in the field of collectible toys, especially creating an immersive consumer experience through physical stores.
"This puts forward higher requirements for storefront commercial space design and product display." Chen Wei said.
"Immersive consumption experience has become a factor that attracts users who collect toys to shop, and the display of goods will also affect shopping psychology." Cao Yuelin, director of the marketing center of kidsland Kaizhile Group, said that high-quality immersive experience scenes are more popular with consumers. , while focusing on the creation of "immersive" consumption scenarios, it should also pay attention to "user portraits", and carry out precise product marketing through the accumulation of consumption data.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News Reporter
Ye Yan Song Jia asked