The COVID-19 crisis has been accelerating ever since… “Gacha-gacha” shops are popping up all over the vacant stores & spaces.

If you notice, “Gacha-gacha” specialty stores are opening one after another…

In downtown areas, shopping malls, fashion buildings, train stations, and underground shopping malls, …… you will find that capsule toy stores specializing in so-called “GACHA-GACHA” (capsule toys) are opening one after another. Such a trend seems to be gaining momentum.

Many of the specialty stores that we have seen in recent years have a clean white or subdued black store image, with hundreds, sometimes more than a thousand, capsule toy vendor machines lined up in a row. Three years ago, the “Gashapon no Depart Ikebukuro So-honten,” which is also Bandai’s official store, appeared in Ikebukuro Sunshine City and is one of the largest in the world, with 3,010 machines, which was even recorded by the Guinness Book of Records. Incidentally, another capsule toy specialty store, “Gacha Gacha no Mori” is located on a different floor of Sunshine City.

In Shinjuku, Bandai has opened the “Gashapon Bandai Official Shop Shinjuku Marui Annex” in Shinjuku Marui Annex, which is also directly managed by Bandai, and in the Shinjuku Subnade underground shopping mall, a “Gachagacha no Mori” was opened in the space of the long-established Fukuya Bookstore, which closed at the end of 2010. The “Gacha Gacha no Mori” (Gacha Gacha Forest) opened in the space of the long-established Fukuya Bookstore, which closed at the end of 2010. A new capsule toy corner has also opened in a corner of “Mosaic Street” at the south exit of Shinjuku, which is currently closed due to redevelopment.

Capsule toy stores and specialty corners are popping up one after another in Shibuya, Harajuku, Asakusa, and Odaiba…… of course, not just in Tokyo, and it is common to see many people popping the levers. In the specialty stores and corners in the city center, I have the impression that there are more adults, especially women, than children or enthusiasts, and furthermore, it is no longer unusual to see inbound tourists visiting Japan getting excited in the center of the city.

One of the first examples of this trend, in which empty stores and spaces became capsule toy corners and became crowded beyond generations and national borders, is said to be the establishment of a specialized corner at Narita Airport Terminal 2 in 2004 as a use of vacant space.

Gacha Gacha” as a “customer-attracting device

Katsuhiko Onoo, chairman of the Japan Gacha-Gacha Association, commented on the current rush to open new stores,

“Since the COVID-19 crisis, the number of new gacha-gacha shops has been accelerating,” says Katsuhiko Ono, chairman of the Japan Gacha-Gacha Association.

“Since the Corona disaster, the rush to open new shops has been accelerating,” he says.

Gacha-gacha and capsule machine specialty stores and corners are playing the role of “customer attractors,” so to speak, and this is creating a synergistic effect that leads people to visit other stores in shopping arcades and tourist attractions.

Why are capsule toy stores increasing in number?

First of all, it is assumed that the popularity and demand for capsule toys themselves is increasing. One reason may be that capsule toys have become an amusement that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, with a product lineup that includes characters, elaborate miniatures, accessories, charms, and other items that can be enjoyed not only by children and enthusiasts, but also by the adult generation, which seems to be more vibrant than ever before.

The “quality of workmanship” of the products, as well as the global popularity of anime, games, and other content, seems to have made it an inexpensive and, in a sense, experiential shopping experience enjoyed by tourists from overseas as well.

The aforementioned Mr. Ono,

“The spread of new and interesting products on social networking services and inbound tourism websites has made people think, ‘Let’s try it when I go to Japan! This may be one of the reasons for the rise in popularity. Of course, I think the same trend is also true for users in Japan.

He analyzes, “SNS and inbound tourism are also gaining in popularity.

Soaring labor costs…

A writer with knowledge of the marketing situation also commented, “Needless to say, the Corona disaster has been a major factor.

Needless to say, the COVID-19 crisis has had a major impact on various industries. I think everyone knows that the temporary loss of foot traffic from the city was a huge blow to the brick-and-mortar stores, causing a rush of store closures. It may also be due to the ever-increasing penetration of online shopping.

In such a situation, GACHA-GACHA does not require much initial investment other than the installation of capsule machines, does not require electricity, requires only refilling or replacing products, and does not require much maintenance. The fact that it requires almost no labor costs, which is the most troublesome factor in various industries, is also very significant. I think the operational cost is also very high.

On the other hand, in shopping streets and roadside areas in residential neighborhoods and other living areas, coin-operated laundromats, frozen gourmet vending machine specialty stores, and unmanned frozen dumpling stores often open new stores after vacant ones are vacated, and this can be seen as a similar reason in terms of labor costs.

Capsule toy specialty stores are probably a city center or shopping mall version of these stores (although of course there are also cases of capsule toy specialty stores opening in shopping malls in the areas where people live).

The capsule toy market as a whole is expected to reach a record high of 64 billion yen in 2011 and even more this year, so it may be fair to say that the booming capsule toy market as a whole is providing a tailwind that will help attract more customers to commercial and tourist areas as a whole.

The bright, open storefronts that are easy to enter have transformed the image of specialty stores, especially those in central Tokyo, where the enthusiasts congregate. I believe that the large number of people who visit these stores has the effect of attracting more customers to shopping malls and shopping arcades.

Ono explains some of the capsule toy specialty stores that have opened in central Tokyo and other areas.

In recent years, an increasing number of these stores are operated directly by distributors, who act as intermediaries between manufacturers and retailers, replacing and restocking products.

Direct operation by distributors, who can easily grasp sales trends and other factors, is an ideal business model that further improves efficiency.

As long as the content of the products continues to evolve and the desire to play with them continues to grow, the number of capsule toy specialty stores and specialty corners that can attract customers at low cost will continue to increase.