After Labubu, all shoppers want a surprise mystery box for Christmas

If Labubu has been the story of 2025, then the elf-like figure could also be the gift that saved Christmas, as shoppers turn to so-called mystery boxes and blind boxes for a valuable bit of discovery.

With analysts predicting tougher times for the toy industry this holiday season, Labubu’s breakout success has prompted brands and top retailers to choose gifts that leave the recipient guessing.

Even though you can hardly avoid it, the rise of Labub began as a niche obsession among Asian collectors and has since risen to the global mainstream, turning a once obscure, nebulous figure into a cultural phenomenon.

Labubu’s strange charm and “ugly-cute” appeal have seen it move from store shelves to resale platforms where limited editions can fetch hundreds or even thousands of dollars. That rise in customer appetite has coincided with a broader retail boom in blind and mystery boxes, a format built around deliberately hidden packaging that keeps buyers wondering, and more importantly, returning, in the hope of completing a set.

Chinese toy retailer Pop Mart’s elf-like creature went viral in part thanks to advocacy from celebrities like Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian. As demand for the real Pop Mart version of Labubu has outpaced supply in the US, the market has opened the door for other players to ride the wave.

This holiday season, major retailers have stocked their aisles with cheaper, easier-to-find alternatives.

Walmart and Target ride on Labubu Wave

Chains like Walmart and Target are promoting an ever-widening range of mystery figures and collectible cards, while US toymakers including Hasbro and Mattel have adopted the concept for big-name brands, rolling out Furby and Barbie in opaque boxes intended to deliver the same thrill of discovery.

Blind boxes work on a simple premise: Buyers can’t see what they’re getting until they open it, encouraging repeat purchases and a sense of low-stakes excitement.

Part of the appeal is that a number of brands are offering boxes under $15, positioned as accessible gifts in an era of rising toy prices, inflated in part by tariffs on China, where most of the industry’s output still comes from.

And the format’s addictive appeal has made it one of the more resilient categories of the season, especially as retailers hesitate to bet heavily on toys with a higher price tag amid continued consumer caution.

Labubu itself remains largely absent from conventional gift guides, not because demand is weak, but because supply is unpredictable and sales are almost instantaneous. The shortage has also pushed consumers toward chains like expansionist Chinese retailer Miniso, which now has more than 200 U.S. locations and specializes in blind-box collaborations.

Miniso has expanded its mystery boxes, which it sells online, in-store and through kiosk machines, as demand for them exceeds other categories and shoppers enjoy the small delight that comes from revealing a surprise.

Labubu and collectibles Christmas hit

Collectibles as a whole, including another growth sector in trading cards, have been one of the few bright spots in a toy market that has softened over the past two years and analysts have warned that overall sales in November and December will be lower than last year.

However, this year marks a turning point for specialty stores. Companies like Miniso, Ohku and Canada-based Showcase, one of the limited U.S. sources for authentic Labubu items, are expanding across North America.

Ohku has launched a new line of blind boxes in time for the holidays and plans to expand its online distribution, while Showcase, with 41 locations in the U.S., is readying new releases from Sonny Angel, another cult collectible brand, in early December.

As a result, blind boxes will dominate sales of toys and collectibles this holiday season, which was a relatively modest category a year ago.

For retailers who rely on small treats rather than blockbuster toys, the lasting impact of the Labubu craze is that mystery could prove to be the surprise Christmas hit.