“Barbie” is the top-searched term on Amazon. Shopify has seen a 56% increase in doll sales. And despite a fall in Q2 Barbie doll sales, Mattel believes there will be significant growth for the property in the coming months and years. All of this has Greta Gerwig’s movie to thank.
The “Barbie” effect: Over the past eight weeks, “Barbie” has been the search term with the highest search count on Amazon, per Noogata.
- The most popular search terms behind “Barbie” were “Barbie dolls,” “Barbie clothes for women,” “Barbie shirts for women,” and “Barbie dream house.”
- “Barbie Crocs” was the search term with the greatest search volume increase (growing 10,000% in July, per Noogata). Though not in the movie, Crocs are currently experiencing a surge in popularity among both consumers and celebrities.
- Birkenstocks, which were featured in the film, are also flying off the shelves as fans attempt to recreate Barbie’s outfit at the end of the film.
- Of the top five “Barbie”-branded products sold on Amazon, only one was a traditional doll.
“After looking at the total search volume for ‘Barbie’ branded searches, it’s clear to see that clothing is the unexpected winner when it comes to consumer search,” wrote Jaron Seijffers, director of products at Noogata.
All dolled up: Shopify is also seeing a “Barbie”-driven sales lift.
“Across the board, we’re seeing doll sales up 56%,” Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, which powers the D2C operation for Mattel, told Insider.
And it’s not just new Barbie dolls that consumers are looking for: Sales of vintage and collectible Barbies are up too, per USA Today.
Meet your maker: Last month, Mattel made headlines when it revealed that sales of Barbie dolls fell in the second quarter. But there’s more to the story.
Yes, Barbie doll sales were down 7%, but that was mostly due to a shifting in promotions to better align with the theatrical release of the movie. Mattel is forecasting “significant growth” for Barbie in the coming months.
“We’ve never been more confident in Barbie and our Dolls portfolio’s future in both the back half and certainly years and beyond,” said Richard Dickson, Mattel’s president and COO, in an earnings call.
This weekend, the “Barbie” movie hit the $1 billion mark at the box office, less than three weeks after opening.
As consumers continue seeing the movie (some for a second or third time), sales of “Barbie”-related toys, clothing, and accessories will most likely climb as retailers reap the rewards of the pink halo.
Mattel plans to apply its “Barbie” strategy to all its theatrical releases, according to Ynon Kreiz, executive chairman and CEO of Mattel.
“We’re not saying that every new movie will achieve the same level of success, but we absolutely plan to execute the same strategy, the same approach, the same methodology in collaborating with top talent in inspiring, in amplifying and trusting and promoting top talent and then bringing our marketing machine and demand creative capabilities to create special, iconic moments in culture,” he said.
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