Explainer / What is mystery shopping? Labubu leads the way as other retailers join in
The Pop Mart craze is spreading to other retailers like Le Creuset and E.L.F. Beauty as ‘blind shopping’ takes off around the world
Fans of brands as varied as Le Creuset, E.L.F. Beauty, Michaels Companies and the Miami Heat can make a gamble – spend some nominal amount of money to get merchandise worth much more.
The catch? Shoppers don’t know what they’re getting until they open the box – a phenomenon known as “mystery” or “blind” shopping.
“It’s gamified commerce,” said Shreyas Sekar, assistant professor of operations management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, who has closely tracked the rise of blind boxes. The practice, long popular in parts of Asia, has spread to the US, UK and Canada over the last three or four years, Sekar said, with more new companies jumping on the trend each year.
Now, other retailers are realising they too can drive buzz – and at times offload unwanted merchandise – by playing up the secrecy angle.
But as with any gamble, it doesn’t come without risk. Like the kid who receives a sweater instead of Legos for their birthday, shoppers at times have been disappointed by the contents of the boxes. And many of them air their grievances on social media.
Le Creuset apologised to customers, acknowledging the event and mystery boxes “did not live up to expectations”. It called on customers who “received a mystery box below the guaranteed US$300 value, or damaged product” to contact the company directly “to make things right”. (The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
