Whether it’s Instagram or even Wimbledon appearances, wherever you look, one thing is common, the Labubu craze! The combo of an ‘ugly-cute’ plush toy has made the majority of people either a huge fan or someone totally intrigued by the idea of owning a Labubu. The pointed ears, huge eyes and not to forget the large teeth surely make it a unique looking toy. But have you ever wondered why it’s so insanely popular? What makes the feeling of owning a toy so essential and everyone is affected by this craze irrespective of whether it’s a young adult or even a millennial? Though the trends have their own crazy way of working, my Economist mind went on an overdrive and I quickly recognised three concepts of Economics at work here! Intrigued?
Read on to know about an interesting take on what happens when the Labubu craze is observed under a microscopic view of the Economics world of conspicuous consumption, scarcity principle and bandwagon effect too!
P.S.: The unique design of Labubu is surely cute yet not so cute! Do you own one?
Reasons Behind Why Owning a Labubu Became a Trend?
Pic Source: Ebay
The Doctrine of Conspicuous Consumption
When celebs like Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Ananya Pandey and more make a fashion statement, the world definitely loves to follow! The celebrities quickly flaunted their own Laububus and in no time it became the talk of the town. What followed next was everyone wanting to flaunt their own Labubu doll either on the social media or in their own social circles.
This is what conspicuous consumption is all about too! More than the practical use, when people buy goods for displaying their wealth or to maintain their desired social status, it leads to buying of unique uncommon products! If people can afford it, they quickly want to own an original Labubu toy (preferably the limited edition ones) just like their favourite celeb or influencer does!
Just like people buy a luxury car or expensive jewelry as it highlights their social standing, owning a Labubu has become quite synonymous with it too!
Scarcity Principle at Work
Anything that’s a limited edition? Bring it on, we want to own it! That’s the general feeling amongst the majority of us! After all, who doesn’t like owning something that you love and is super scarce too.
Original Labubu is majorly sold in a blind box which means till one opens it, no one has any idea which Labubu will they get! This makes many limited edition Labubus very scarce and the idea of owning a rare one fuels multiple buying. The collectors surely want to own as many of these rare Labubus as they can. The exclusivity of a Labubu increases its desirability.
The Economic’s scarcity principle is on full display here! The limited supply of the original Labubu and an even more scarce supply of a limited edition Labubu increases its demand which in turn can lead to a rise in prices to a very high level too. Still the popularity of a Labubu makes people buy them to ensure their collection gets bigger.
The Bandwagon Effect
The social media world took the concept of ‘follow the crowd’ to another level! Right from interesting trends on which reels are made to owning certain things, following what others are doing has become the new norm. When people started sharing their own Labubu unboxing reels, their Labubu fashion stories, how they creatively used their Labubu like a charm etc., the instant reaction in the mind is ‘I want one too!’
Time for a surprise, the Economics concept of Bandwagon Effect is just that! It’s basically a psychological phenomenon where one starts doing something like following a trend or buying things only because everyone else is doing the same! Mainly the decision making of buying or doing something gets influenced by what others are doing. After all, if everyone is doing something, it must be correct right?
No wonder owning a Labubu has come up in everyone’s bucket list!
Who knew something that has grown as a trend can have so many economics concepts behind it? Surely Economics has an influence on everyday lives beyond what we thought! What are your views on the Labubu trend?