Why Gashapon is Booming in the US: The Business Model Behind 'Selling Despite the High Price'

An official Bandai Gashapon specialty store has opened in a Texas mall. I've been seeing them in shopping malls a lot lately, so I decided to dig deeper.

The pricing is enough to make a Japanese person do a double-take. One token is $3, meaning up to $9—about 1,350 yen—per spin. That's more than two to four times the going rate in Japan (200–500 yen).
Even so, inside the store, Americans were inserting token after token and kept spinning the Gashapon machines. While many of the people spinning them were on the nerdy side, there was a wide variety of ages and genders.
Why is this happening? Bandai's rapid Gashapon growth was recently featured on the Presents Online podcast, and the content was so fascinating from a business perspective that I've summarized it here along with some local photos.

Here is the podcast. It was interesting, so I recommend giving it a listen.

Prices confirmed on-site

From a Japanese perspective, it's 'expensive.' But from an American perspective, it seems there's a gap where they think, 'For this quality at this price, it's cheap.'
In reality, the quality of toys in this price range here isn't high... or rather, they don't really exist...

There really aren't any figure toys under 10 dollars.

The fatal problem with the wholesaler model

Originally, Gashapon was deployed 'via wholesalers.' The structure was that Bandai would hand the toys to wholesalers, who would then place and restock them in various locations.
This had a fundamental problem.
What is selling is unknown.
Restocking was basically done once a week. Contractors would make rounds and restock if the machines were empty. But they didn't know if a machine had 'emptied in half a day' or 'taken 7 days to empty.' The speed of sales was a complete black box.
Who is buying is also unknown.
Purchase data didn't reach Bandai, and they had to rely on the intuition of the wholesalers. As a manufacturer, this was a fatal information gap.
And, when something became a big hit, wholesalers hated it.
If a specific model sold too well, it required special handling just to restock it. A situation would arise where they had to come in every day just for that one model, whereas normally a weekly check would suffice. It seems there was a paradoxical structure where this was a nuisance to wholesalers and earned their resentment.
'The more it sells, the more friction it creates in the supply chain.'
—This is a fundamental contradiction for a manufacturer.

The 'data revolution' brought about by direct management

To summarize the podcast, in the late 2010s, Bandai began a shift in thinking to 'view Gashapon as a store.'
They struggled at first. But the COVID-19 pandemic became an unexpected tailwind.
In an era where customer service wasn't possible, the 'unmanned' nature of Gashapon shone. Furthermore, Gashapon machines don't require electricity to operate. Maintenance costs are low, and no staff is needed. The market expanded all at once.
And through direct management, Bandai was finally able to 'know its own customers.'
Analyzing purchase data revealed that the purchase ratio of women in their 20s and 30s was unexpectedly high. A reality emerged that was completely different from the preconceived notion that it was 'for children.'
Based on this data, they opened a large store on Otome Road in Ikebukuro. This was a huge hit. Sales have been on an upward trend ever since.

What I witnessed at the Texas mall

When I actually entered the store, the people buying were mainly young people around their 20s. They were the so-called otaku/subculture crowd, with things like green-dyed hair or lots of piercings. They were inserting token after token, spinning capsules for Dragon Ball and Kaiju No. 8 one after another.
They didn't seem to care at all about the price that I, as a Japanese person, thought was 'expensive...'
That's because there's nothing else in America where you can buy 'something of this quality' in this price range. A price that feels 'expensive' by Japanese standards looks like 'value' in the American context.
Inside the store, the official Gashapon song 'GashaPOP' was playing on a loop, creating a somewhat chaotic and fun atmosphere.

What we can learn from this business

1. By having data, you can finally know 'your own customers'
The 'who is buying' that wasn't visible through wholesalers became clear with direct management. It's a classic example of data becoming the basis for the next decision.
2. Whether something is 'expensive' depends on the market
Even if it's pricey in Japan, it's 'cheap' by American standards. Pricing is not an absolute value; it's determined by the context of that market.
3. The strength of low-tech shines during a 'crisis'
No electricity, unmanned, low maintenance costs—the crisis of COVID-19 highlighted the essential strengths of Gashapon.
4. Question your 'assumptions' about your target
There was a long-held preconception that it was 'for children,' but in reality, adult women were the primary customers. Data beats hypotheses.

The limits of the wholesaler model → direct management → data acquisition → rediscovery of customers → overseas expansion.
The evolution of Gashapon was like a business textbook case study.
I feel like the movement in America has only just begun.