Fashion

Baby Yoda: How retailers are capitalising on the meme sensation


Whether you’ve seen the Disney+ flagship television series The Mandalorian or not,
chances are you’ve still seen or heard of its breakout character, Baby Yoda, who has
quickly become a meme sensation thanks to social media.

The character, who depending on who you speak to is either adorably endearing or
tiresomely cloying, has risen to the strange and often unexplainable world of internet
fame, bringing with it, as often is the case, a perfect merchandising opportunity for
brands to capitalise on. After all, where there is internet buzz, there are often sales
to be made.

Meme sensation drives fashion sales

Since the first episode of the Star Wars spin-off show aired in the US on 12
November – conveniently just ahead of the festive shopping period – 103 Baby Yoda
products across womenswear arrived online in the US, predominantly on t-shirts,
sweaters and hoodies – that’s according to retail analyst firm Edited. In that
same period, 257 menswear products described as ‘Baby Yoda’ arrived online in the
US, with Kohl’s, BoxLunch, Walmart and Hot Topic investing the most in the products.
Sell-outs and replenishment of Baby Yoda t-shirts and sweaters have already been
recorded at Kohl’s and Target.

Baby Yoda: How retailers are capitalising on the meme sensation
Image: Merchandise Jets (left), Kohl’s (centre) and Walmart, courtesy
of Edited

The show has so far only been aired in the US, meaning UK retailers have a
head start to prepare for the launch on 31 March and have stock to promote on
Star Wars Day on 4 May, according to Edited. In the UK, fast-fashion retailers
Primark – which is known for keeping a finger firmly on the pulse of pop-culture
and release related products accordingly – and Missguided are the only UK
retailers so far to capitalize on the Baby Yoda hype.

Baby Yoda merch is predominantly being sold in three different ways by
retailers: graphic T-shirts – which Edited highlights is the easiest and most
popular way to capitalize on the character if you have a license for it; costumes,
such as full-body Halloween outfits, hoodies, hats and wearable ears; and nightwear,
including onesies, graphic pyjama sets, bathrobes and slippers.

Baby Yoda: How retailers are capitalising on the meme sensation

Déjà vu

A similar meme sensation from the Guardian’s of the Galaxy Vol 2,
called Baby Groot, created a spike in products when the film was released
in 2017, and then again in December 2017 during the Christmas period. The
US was the main market to capitalise on the character’s viral success, with
Walmart in particular stocking up on related items. T-shirts made up 73 percent
of arrivals, while nightwear was the second most invested in category at 15
percent. Edited also noted that almost no retailers capitalized on Baby
Groot’s hype for communications, with Hot Topic the only retailer featuring
the character in emails around the movie release.

Main article image: Baby Yoda, courtesy of Edited



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