Pop Mart brand sentiments dip amid pricing controversy over new product

Pop Mart has seen a dip in brand sentiment after a live-streaming incident where staff were captured questioning the pricing of the brand's latest product line - "DIMOO newborn diary series-blind box keychains", priced at RMB¥79 each.

On 6 November, after a live stream for Pop Mart’s DIMOO blind box, the broadcast wasn’t properly ended, capturing a private staff conversation. In the viral clip, one employee questioned the RMB$79 price, saying "Oh, this is a bit ... at RMB$79 (這個東西賣79塊錢確實有點)" while a colleague replied, “It’s fine, people will pay". (沒事，會有人買單的) The staff member then added, “How mean(過分)”.

According to media intelligence firm CARMA, social media mentions of Pop Mart in China related to the incident showed a rise in negative sentiments from 2.9% to 15.8%, while positive sentiments decreased from 64.5% to 18.5%.

In Asia, the keywords associated with Pop Mart revolved around the company’s response and investigation, public doubt regarding product value, and consumer anger linked to the livestream remarks. Prior to the livestream incident, mentions of Pop Mart focused on brand expansion, cultural positioning, and collaboration themes, including popular (熱門), cute (可愛), surprise (驚喜), collaboration (合作), and IP. Sentiment towards Pop Mart was positive, emphasizing growth and culture, with no focus on pricing or customer dissatisfaction, according to CARMA.

 

After the incident, themes of social media discussions revolved around the company’s response and investigation, public doubt over product value, and consumer anger linked to the livestream remarks. Keywords associated include “taken off shelves” (下架), “value” (價值), “markup” (溢價), investigation (調查), and response (回應). 

Furthermore, the Chinese media discussions between 7 to 10 November show several unique traits compared to general mentions or pre-crisis coverage, with the media focusing on the crisis's impact on Pop Mart's financials and brand reputation, according to CARMA. This incident affected consumer perceptions and was also significant for investors.

Words such as "official" (官方), "response" (回應), "investigation" (調查), and "department" (部門) suggest media focus on corporate accountability and regulatory oversight, not just consumer chatter. Frequent use of "consumers" (消費者), “customer service” (客服), "doubt" (質疑), and "netizens" (網友) reflects amplified public scrutiny and user-driven narratives picked up by state and commercial media alike. 

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on Weibo that some users said that they have invested significant amounts in Pop Mart products over the years, while others suggested that if they were in Pop Mart's PR team, they would praise the staff instead of firing them and then readjusting the pricing.

The following day, the topic "Pop Mart livestream accident" surged to the top of the trending charts on Weibo, China's major microblogging platform, sparking intense scrutiny and debate amongst consumers and industry observers alike.

The company acknowledged the live-streaming error and confirmed that an urgent internal investigation is underway, according to multiple media reports in China. Notably, the company said it will not dismiss the employees involved in the incident.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Pop Mart for a statement. 

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