ST LOUIS (AP) – The world’s largest rodent is having a big moment.
The capybara – a semi-aquatic South American relative of the guinea pig – is the latest in a long line of “it” animals to get star treatment during the holiday shopping season.
Shoppers can find capybara slippers, purses, robes and bath bombs. There are cuddly plush capybaras and stretchy or squishy ones. Tiny capybaras wander across bedding, T-shirts, phone cases, mugs, key chains and almost any other type of traditional gift item.
Last year, it was the axolotl that took pride of place on many products, and the endangered amphibian remains popular. Owls, hedgehogs, foxes and sloths also had recent turns in the spotlight.
Trendy animals and animal-like creatures aren’t a new retail phenomenon; think the talking Teddy Ruxpin toys of the 1980s or Furby and Beanie Babies a decade later. But industry experts say social media is amplifying which animals are hot – or not.
“It’s really the launch on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms that allow these characters or animals to blow up like crazy,” said Richard Derr, who has owned a Learning Express Toys franchise in Lake Zurich, Illinois, for nearly 30 years and is also a regional manager for the specialty toy store chain.
Social media is also speeding up the cycle. Must-have animals may only last a season before something new captures customers’ imaginations.
“It’s really important to keep feeding that beast,” vice president and toy industry advisor Juli Lennett at market research firm Circana, said. “If you are an influencer, you’re not going to talk about last year’s stuff.”
Skyrocketing plush toy sales – fuelled by a need for comfort during the pandemic – are also increasing the demand for new and interesting varieties,
Lennett said. In the first nine months of this year, sales of plush animals were up 115 per cent from the same period in 2019, she said. Overall toy sales rose 38 per cent in that time.
