Go & Stop Signals in Gambling-like Consumption: the Case of Labubu Blind Box

As one of Pop Mart’s most successful products, Labubu’s marketing strategy, product quality and cultural inclusivity have all contributed to Pop Mart’s unprecedented revenue. Based on the summary of previous studies in this paper, Labubu’s success can be attributed to its effective use of a gambling-like blind box mechanism to create a desire to collect, celebrity promotion to popularise the product and eye-catching designs and IP to retain consumers. However, the current unreasonable replenishment mechanism and the departure of the core shareholder have created instability in Labubu’s future market. Therefore, this study argues that stabilising consumer sentiment through public relations, stopping the exploitation of popular IP value and providing high-quality products is important. Research on the macro impact of social opinion and herd behaviour on consumer behaviour is currently well developed. Using the Go and Stop Signal Framework, this study will analyse Labubu’s popularity from the perspective of consumer insight and behaviour. This will enable researchers to understand the impact of reported and unconscious signals on consumers, predict their behaviour, analyse potential risks, and contribute to the advancement of the relevant research field by providing ideas for future studies.