The 'Useless Use' of Pop Mart Has Become the Greatest Value
We have always recognized paying for material things, but the emotional economy is rapidly developing and growing. Generation Z has long been free from material anxiety; the essence of the emotional economy is the spiritual necessity in an age of material surplus.
When functional needs are fully met, the core of consumer decision-making shifts to emotional identification and the construction of a sense of existence. The success of Pop Mart reveals that:
Products are Media: Creating space for user emotional projection through IP blank spaces.
Consumption is Experience: Making the shopping behavior entertaining, ritualistic, and the experience of rare blind box items is unique.
Brands are Communities: Strengthening user sense of belonging through UGC and subcultural dynamics, with celebrities promoting products.
As the emotional economy market grows, who can say that flipping sneakers, flipping NFTs, playing memes, and the millet economy don't count?
The success of Pop Mart is not an isolated case, but a reconstruction of consumption logic in an era of material surplus. As the functional value of products gradually takes a backseat, the narrative ability of cultural symbols and the scarcity of emotional resonance are becoming the core driving forces of the new consumption era. Yet, I still cannot discern what kind of emotional products are good products.
