Inside POP MART’s playbook for dominating Southeast Asia’s collectibles scene
The blind box giant, POP MART, is betting big on AI-powered drops, creator commerce, and community-driven campaigns across Lazada
The blind box boom isn’t slowing down—and POP MART knows it.
The global toy and designer collectibles brand is doubling down on Southeast Asia via an extended partnership with Lazada, betting on an ecosystem that blends instant gratification, fandom, and algorithm-driven product discovery.
This article explores how POP MART’s move into Lazada’s LazMall network represents more than a retail channel shift. It’s a blueprint for how brands can meet the digital-native, community-first expectations of Gen Z and millennial collectors—while turning creators into commerce engines.
Short on time?
Here’s a table of contents for quick access:
- What’s new with POP MART and Lazada
- Why this matters in SEA’s growing collectibles market
- What marketers should know from POP MART’s retail strategy
Patrecia Meliana
What's new with POP MART and Lazada
POP MART joined Lazada’s LazMall in 2023 and has since scaled over 5x, becoming one of the platform’s fastest-growing toy brands. The company is leaning into exclusive drops, releasing limited figures like MOLLY and Zsiga, alongside new plush SKULLPANDAs this June—available only through LazMall.
Beyond SKUs, POP MART is customizing its approach by market. AI tools drive character curation per country, with SKULLPANDA trending in Thailand and DIMOO in Malaysia.
Logistics-wise, 85% of orders in major SEA cities now arrive within 48 hours, all in collector-ready, shock-proof packaging.
Patrecia Meliana
Why this matters in SEA's growing collectibles market
The blind box market is projected to hit US$31 billion globally by 2031. But in Southeast Asia, it’s not just about rarity—it’s about culture, community, and click-to-cart conversion.
POP MART’s real differentiator lies in its ability to localize without losing its global brand narrative. This is done through hyper-personalized storefronts, fast logistics, and a rising creator community. On Lazada, 34% of sales now come from affiliate creators—livestreamers and toy reviewers who embed the brand in everyday fandom moments.
The brand isn’t staying purely digital either. On July 27, POP MART will co-host a 5KM fandom run with Lazada in Singapore, blending fitness, music, and meetups with collectible culture.
What marketers should know
Here’s what POP MART’s Lazada playbook can teach performance and brand marketers in SEA:
- Retail + creator economy = new commerce hybrid
Instead of relying solely on search-driven discovery, POP MART turns unboxings into storytelling events. With over a third of transactions tied to creators, marketers should consider affiliate and UGC integration not as side tactics, but as revenue channels.
- Leverage marketplaces for insight, not just distribution
POP MART uses Lazada data and AI to determine what to drop and where. This goes beyond inventory management—it’s behavioral intelligence. Brands with access to similar platform data should look at personalization strategies that feed product decisions.
- Merge online hype with offline touchpoints
The upcoming fandom run shows how digital-first brands can build emotional loyalty through offline experiences. These IRL activations can deepen brand equity without requiring a full retail footprint.
- Packaging and delivery are now part of brand storytelling
Shock-proof, trackable, and branded delivery is no longer a nice-to-have. For collector-focused brands, the unboxing experience is a campaign moment in itself.
POP MART isn’t just chasing sales on Lazada—it’s redefining what retail looks like when fandom meets data.
For marketers, the takeaway is clear: in SEA’s fast-growing, experience-driven economy, scaling requires more than product-market fit. It demands platform fluency, creator partnerships, and community-led storytelling.
