How long can Barbie toys stay popular? Everything you want to know is right here.

How long can Barbie toys stay popular? In 1959, Mattel officially unveiled Barbie at the International Toy Fair in New York City, attracting the gaze of countless young girls with her voluptuous figure, golden wavy hair, high heels, and pink ensemble.

In 2023, this iconic figure once again graced the big screen, sparking an unprecedented pink storm that swept across the globe, igniting social media and alerting savvy merchants to lucrative opportunities.

According to Numerator data, compared to last year, Barbie has jumped from 85th to 49th place on this year’s Prime Day top brand rankings. The Barbie-led pink storm is sweeping the globe, penetrating the lives of overseas consumers in various aspects, including clothing, electronics, home goods, and more. Many sellers are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on this trend and drive insane sales!

Immersed in this pink storm, one can’t help but ponder: why can an IP born 64 years ago reignite its popularity this summer? How can cross-border e-commerce sellers capitalize on this trend to expand product categories? And how long will this pink storm last?

1. “Barbie’s Feast”: Dominating Amazon’s Doll Category

On July 21, 2023, the live-action movie “Barbie” premiered simultaneously in mainland China and North America, and wearing pink to the screenings became an unspoken agreement among viewers. The once-mocked “Barbie pink” became the toughest fashion trend of the summer.

The premiere of “Barbie” grossed $155 million in three days, breaking the record for the highest weekend box office for a new release. On TikTok, hashtags like #barbie garnered 81.2 billion views, #pink had 49 billion views, and #barbiegirl had 17.7 billion views.

In the midst of an economic downturn, the continued rise in Barbie’s popularity caught the attention of keen cross-border e-commerce sellers.

On various cross-border e-commerce platforms, sales of Barbie dolls and related products have been steadily increasing. For example, a vintage Barbie doll, originally priced at $200, is now selling for $11,400 on eBay, nearly 60 times its original price. On Amazon, Barbie dominates the top positions in the doll category, with prices soaring several times over. On Mattel’s independent website, various Barbie dolls featured in the movie are already sold out.

Items ranging from Barbie’s combs, clothes, and accessories to life-size Barbie dolls and clothing with Barbie elements are selling like hotcakes. Some independent sellers, capitalizing on the trend, have seen daily sales soar to over $3,000 within a few days.

This massive pink storm seems somewhat unexpected yet inevitable.

“Every girl has a Barbie dream in her childhood, and the Barbie IP is full of value. It can be said that many people consume for the sentimentality of the Barbie IP,” said a cross-border seller in the industry. The dazzling performance of this 64-year-old IP this summer proves that Barbie is not outdated. Instead, it has perfectly tapped into the desires of many people, coinciding with the release of the movie.

Without delving into the rise and fall of Barbie’s IP history, the cultural core behind the Barbie movie has led girls to reevaluate Barbie, ensuring the longevity of this IP.

In the movie “Barbie,” Barbie is portrayed as an independent woman with her own fashion sense, using her positive attitude and confidence to show that pink is the most vibrant, bold, and bright color. “From this movie, we can see that the cultural core of the film is about caring and thinking about women themselves, as well as the influence of female power and ideas on the fashion field, summarizing current trends.”

Finally, under the deluge of marketing and collaborations, this pink wave has reached its peak. According to incomplete statistics, many brands in different fields such as Chanel, Zara, Gap, Primark, Nike, ZARA, MINISO, and Crocs have collaborated with Barbie.

2. Rejecting Uniformity: How long can Barbie toys stay popular?

“This summer, Barbie cured my pink shame.” The sudden rise of Barbie has empowered many girls to be themselves. In this trend, everyone wants to cash in.

According to MarketWatch data, after the release of the movie “Barbie” in 2023, it is expected to bring breakthrough sales for the Barbie brand in the next two years.

“The explosion of Barbie has made cross-border e-commerce sellers see a crucial point: the visual power of pink and the female consumer psychology behind it. The ‘Barbie trend’ is no longer limited to a specific group of women; it captures the consumption psychology and changing demands of the masses accurately,” said seller Lao Liu to Hugo Cross-border.

Barbie is diverse, and the changes it brings in fashion are also evident. In terms of color, in recent years, there has been a shift towards “dopamine dressing.” The once tacky Barbie pink has transformed into a trend color with its own charming romance. In terms of size, from various brand collaborations and marketing efforts, it is easy to see that the linkage between plus-size women’s clothing and fashion trends is becoming a focus for many brands.

For example, the standout feature of Zara’s Barbie fashion series this time is that they consider various body types of customers, and they have hired plus-size model Sevval Omar to showcase various clothing. Forever 21’s series covers sizes from XS to 3XL, indicating that the Barbie trend is not only accepted by thin white girls but can also be embraced by women of all sizes.

Data shows that by 2027, the global plus-size clothing market is expected to reach nearly $700 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% from 2021 to 2027. So far, the global plus-size population exceeds 2.2 billion, with 46.1 million plus-size women in the United States, making it the largest plus-size market globally.

While many plus-size women’s clothing consumers are seeking well-fitting and comfortable clothing, they also hope to balance comfort with the latest fashion trends.

“Using Barbie to dominate the plus-size women’s clothing market is indeed a debatable angle. But there are also considerable difficulties in implementation,” said senior seller Guo Ming.

In Guo Ming’s view, the plus-size women’s clothing category has been popular overseas for many years, and although the market is not saturated, there are still many problems such as insufficient sizes, outdated styles, and poor quality. “Even after adding plus-size clothing production lines on the supply side, product choices are still limited. Especially if bright colors are added, it will inevitably increase production costs. Because not all consumers will accept bright colors, the concept of black slimming is still more acceptable to plus-size clothing consumers.”

In addition, relying on IP marketing, the crisis of infringement is also difficult to avoid. The copyright of Barbie belongs to Mattel, and without Mattel’s permission, any unit or individual is not allowed to use Barbie images and related names commercially, such as “Barbie”, “Barbiecore”, and other related terms. Even the word “PINK” was trademarked by an American singer as early as 2000.

According to the official website of the US courts, on July 25, Ceremony of Roses Acquisition LLC filed a lawsuit against the “PINK” trademark infringement issue, with case number 23-cv-11661, and over a hundred stores have been sued for infringement. Of course, the “PINK” trademark also has specific usage areas, mainly in entertainment services in Class 41 and music recordings in Class 09, with no current impact on the use of trademarks in other categories.

Of course, whether sellers want to capitalize on Barbie’s popularity or have already done so, while considering the benefits Barbie brings, they should also consider whether this pink wave led by Barbie will be short-lived or long-lasting.

3. Contemplation: How Long Can the “Barbie” Craze Last?

The excitement sparked by popular IPs often generates income from merchandise development that can even surpass the revenue generated by creating the IP’s film and television works, but many IPs can’t sustain their popularity.

Previously, the IP “Squid Game” went viral globally just weeks after its release. Products such as the bakery from the show and the pink uniforms of the guards entered the top 100 best-selling items on Amazon. However, to this day, this IP seems unable to maintain long-term popularity. So, how long can the pink whirlwind sparked by Barbie’s IP last? And will it continue to lead fashion trends in autumn and winter?

According to WGSN, bright pink is the fastest-growing color trend in the autumn/winter 2022 season, with a year-on-year growth of 201%. In addition, data shows that searches for “Dua Lipa Barbie” have increased 43 times compared to last year, and searches for “Barbie adult birthday party” have increased 12 times. This may be a sign of future trends in role-playing or Halloween costumes.

The wave of Barbie clothing is more than just a passing trend. As long as there are women, as long as there are workplaces and environments that require independence, there will be the shadow of Barbie. After reaching its peak, the Barbie trend will continue to exist in various forms with different meanings and will continue to influence fashion trends.

Different seasons have different demands, and summer to autumn is when the Barbie trend has the greatest demand. As the weather changes, demand gradually decreases. “Barbie clothing mainly consists of lightweight and dress-like clothing. If the weather is too cold, wearing them becomes inconvenient. But for some special holidays and events, such as Halloween and cosplay, there are good sales opportunities.”

Every stage will produce fashion trends, manifested in styles, colors, fabrics, etc. Some hot topics may also trigger popular trends, and Barbie is one such trend. However, the longevity of such trends may be difficult to sustain. “Once new trends emerge, existing trends are likely to be replaced or surpassed. Moreover, fashion trends themselves also have a certain lifecycle, and factors such as time, space, and season will all have an impact on their sustainability.”

The Barbie-inspired fashion trend’s duration requires time to verify, but the awakening of modern women’s independence and thinking brought by Barbie will last long. As the opening lines of the article state, the dialogue from the Barbie movie: “Barbie can be any character, and girls can be anyone they want to be.” This attitude of independent women will continue to expand in fashion trends.