Pop culture breathes new life into offline biz

In excess of 10,000 guzi stores set up in China market between Jan-Nov

Over the past year, you might have wandered into a mall adorned with vibrant anime posters, stumbled upon stores packed with game figurines, or spotted products co-branded with virtual-world characters. At the heart of this growing phenomenon lies the buzzworthy "guzi economy", which is transforming retail and captivating a new generation of consumers.

The emerging buzzword "guzi", or goods, refers to merchandise created from copyrighted cultural works in domains such as anime, comic books, games and novels. The derivative products usually include posters, badges, cards, keychains, figurines, plush toys and more, and the act of purchasing guzi is known as "eating guzi" (chigu).

According to data from consultancy firm iiMedia Research, the market size of China's guzi economy soared to 168.9 billion yuan ($23.14 billion) in 2024 from 120.1 billion yuan in 2023, while the growth momentum is expected to continue, with a projected market size of over 308.9 billion yuan by 2029.