Labubu, mystery box, and TikTok: A new era of soft competition targeting female consumers

Shopping is a game, and the game is no longer just poker and slots, but Labubu, Blind Box and TikTok. A new cycle of addiction for female consumers: soft games are emerging, where the stakes are emotional rather than monetary. This article is based on an article by John Wang and has been compiled, compiled and contributed by Foresight News. (Synopsis: Labubu fell!) Second-hand price "waist chopping" scalpers lose hemp, bubble mart into the cooling period? (Background added: $LABUBU Meme coin rose 2,000% in two weeks, and Bubble Mart Global snapped up "Super IP" stock price to a new high) The rise of female-led soft games A girl buys 3 bubble mart blind boxes and shoots a curious TikTok unboxing video. She whispered, "Please let me draw the hidden version of the sleeping bear...... But to be honest, I'll be happy as long as it's cute." A man tears open a $500 Pokémon box during a live broadcast, his eyes glued to the camera. "If I can't draw PSA level 10 Charizard, this whole box is fucking worthless." The game isn't always poker chips and slots, sometimes it's Pink Bunny, Blind Box and TikTok Live Stream. Somewhere between retail marketing and roulette, a new cycle of addiction has emerged for female consumers. Same random reward mechanism, but with completely different bets, atmosphere, and psychological knowledge. Welcome to the Soft Game Market: a soft game built for psychological solace rather than honor conquest. The data shows Take a look at the user mix of the biggest "soft game" brands: Bubble Mart blind box toys: 75% women, 50% repurchase rate Shein and Temu: 63% – 66% women, compared to Amazon's bias towards men Slotomania's social casino: 72% of active players are women, mostly 35-55 years old In comparison, the 2025 World Series of Poker will have only 4% of female entrants The farther away you are from "real money on the table", the more you tend to " Pay for the surprise itself, and the more feminine the audience becomes. Types of "soft" games Bubble Mart. Each collection has twelve cute dolls, one or two "hidden" models. Each $10 box definitely has a prize, but it doesn't have to be your target prize. Collectors shoot exciting unboxed films, swap duplicate genres, and keep coming back. According to the company, nearly half will buy back within a year. Shein and Temu. Toys become tops and lip gloss; Loot boxes turn into spin win coupons or two-hour lightning promotions. Shopping becomes like a video game loop: clicks, reveals, dopamine, repetition. Social casino apps like Slotomania or Bingo Blitz digitally press the same buttons (free spins, streamers to celebrate wins, risk-free catches) only to earn billions by selling cosmetics within the app. All three run the variable reward system familiar to casino designers, but the stakes are emotional, not monetary. Unlike poker or slots, these systems are rarely announced, creating a milder "fog of war." It's a low-risk, soft-feedback loop built for habitual engagement rather than thrill-seeking groups. Why it's so effective Gain rather than total loss. Whether it's a bunny doll or $2 lipstick, you always get something, and this psychological comfort tempts people to get involved. The sense of ritual weighs the risk. Opening boxes, clicking on the turntable, and posting loot are all little rituals that decorate the day. A Bubble Mart fan might whisper "Come on, it's a sleeping bear...... when unboxing to music on TikTok. Compare this to game theory optimum (GTO) expectation calculations and hero calls in poker. The former is self-gratification, the latter is a zero-sum game. Aesthetics over conquest: The reward is not the resale value, but how the item fits into the emotional outlet. Bubble Mart fans don't show off the price; They decorate with mischievous Labubu with sanrio plush next to it. While male collectors usually chase a single piece, female collectors tend to look for sets that reflect personal taste ("I finally got the pink bunny and collected my horoscope collection!"). ）。 Share joy, not PvP: Memecoin traders show off 1000% profit and loss screenshots. The Pokémon box opener shows off a $400 draw card. Bubble Mart box openers show duplicates on TikTok and ask, "Does anyone want this pink bunny?" One is competitive, the other is sharing and spiritual resonance. Saving money is more important than making money: Shein shoppers spin the wheel to get 20% off and invite friends to unlock coupons. The thrill is to unlock the dopamine of the trade, not to beat the market. Half of the Temu and Shein apps are about shopping, and the other half is a social game that unlocks discounts on items, and it's very addictive. Academic research supports this behavioral difference: A 2024 study in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that men gamble more for money and competition, while women gamble more for avoidance, emotional regulation, and social connection. Another study showed that women responded more strongly to low-risk reward cycles, while men were more engaged when the stakes and potential gains were higher. Men gamble for glory; Women gamble for pleasure. Business model with ultra-high retention rate Low unit price and high sales are the growth engine. Bubble Mart's gross margin is about 60%; Shein lets users open the app more than 100 times a month. Instead of relying on large consumers, merchants need hundreds of millions of dollars. User lifetime value (LTV) is not driven by jackpots or leaderboards. It is built on emotional attachment, a soft sense of ritual, and the urge to complete a set collection. That's why Bubble Mart's retention rate is better than traditional toy brands and mainstream retail. Shopping is a game Call it blind box retail, lucky bag fashion, or soft color slot machines, the mechanism is the DNA of the game, but the bravado of masculinity is removed. Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop take the same dopamine skeleton and expand it into a complete retail ecosystem: Shein: Daily spinning reel, flash sale bag only, referral stream instead of search, more than 100 app opens per month Temu: lightning promotion, roulette bets on social invitations for coupons, first-day "spinning wheel" mechanics (women click 1.4 times more than men) TikTok Shop: labeled "Mystery Bag" of shoppable unboxing videos have 2-4 times more engagement than the standard. The "surprise premium" is real. Each platform turns shopping into a gamified loop: viewing → spins → possibly → duplicates. Counterintuitively, the prize is not a product, but a dopamine shock when the box is opened. Conclusion For women who rarely see themselves at the poker table, these milder areas provide the same dopamine stimulation. The feminine side of the game has nothing to do with chasing the jackpot. It's about chasing the feeling that the instant "maybe" before that box pops open, the dial stops spinning, or a flash sale appears. This proves that happiness can actually be bought for ten dollars at a time. And this makes the "Blind Box Sutra ...