AEMPS

From Blind-Box Draws to Multiple Consumption Contexts: A Longitudinal Archival Case Study of POP MART

Author

Qianyue Huang * 1

1 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen)

Corresponding Author

Qianyue Huang

Keywords

POP MART, visual IP, consumption-context expansion, product affordances, longitudinal archival case study

Abstract

Existing studies of POP MART mainly explain purchasing and brand diffusion through blind-box uncertainty, gamification, and platform circulation, while paying less attention to how product form, channel arrangements, and communication environments enable multiple consumption contexts over time. Drawing on POP MART's 2020 prospectus, annual-results announcements for 2020-2025, and external archival sources, this study adopts a longitudinal archival case-study design and develops an integrative framework of action, space, and visibility. Visibility is differentiated into the material conditions for consumer-carried visibility, its realized enactment in specific settings, and firm-orchestrated visibility. The case shows three broad periods: the digitalization of purchasing and elevation of collection, the expansion of content and experiential spaces, and changes in material structure accompanied by differentiated visibility. Growth in plush revenue demonstrates the rising commercial importance of plush categories and tactile materials, but does not by itself establish company-wide portability. Miniature pendants indicate that attachment and portability became a visible design direction, while their revenue contribution remains undisclosed. The study therefore offers a bounded process explanation of consumption-context expansion without treating corporate disclosures as direct evidence of general consumer behavior or causal revenue effects.

Citation

Qianyue Huang. From Blind-Box Draws to Multiple Consumption Contexts: A Longitudinal Archival Case Study of POP MART. AEMPS (2026) Vol. 299. DOI: 10.54254/2754-1169/2026.BH36914.

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