To blow up the Death Star, Luke Skywalker had to hit a target the size of a manhole cover while being zapped by dozens of Tie Fighters. Retailers have a much more difficult task when it comes to selling Star Wars merchandise: competing with Amazon.
According to May the 4th Be With You: Assortment and Pricing Analysis of Amazon and its Competitors, a report from Ugam, Amazon is the leading Star Wars retailer in both assortment and pricing. Can any band of rebellious retailers overcome the Bezos Empire? Some think so:
“This type of outside-in analytics can help retailers in any area make better decisions on assortment, pricing, product and marketing content, drive increased sales and find ways to compete against the likes of Amazon,” said Mihir Kittur, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Ugam.
The Force Awakens Customer’s Wallets
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Star Wars had a galactic impact on toy sales in 2015, generating more than $700 million, according to NPD data. Leading up to this year’s Star Wars Day, the report analyzed product assortments offered by Amazon, Walmart, Target, Jet and Toys “R” Us to determine which retailers were best prepared to capitalize on the opportunity. It will come as no surprise that Amazon was the most well-stocked, but other key results might be enough to make some retailers sign up to be frozen in Carbonite.
Popular, These Characters Are
The report identified the 10 most searched-for Star War characters on an average-per-month basis in the U.S. from March 2015 to February 2016, and the results were decidedly strong with the Dark Side:
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens villain Kylo Ren led the way at 550,000;
- Darth Vader (+Anakin Skywalker) with 446,000;
- Luke Skywalker came in at 246,000;
- Boba Fett and Princess Leia were tied at 201,000;
- Yoda, Han Solo and Chewbacca all had 165,000; and
- Darth Maul and BB-8 each had 135,000.
Darth Vader Finds Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing
In spite of his second-place popularity, Darth Vader maintained the highest product count for any character, with 8,246 different products carried by Amazon alone. Next up was BB-8, with a product count on Amazon totaling 4,316, followed by Yoda (3,477) and Luke Skywalker (3,230). Kylo Ren’s product count was a mere 1,785. Sorry to spoil your #1 perch on the most sought-after list, Kylo Ren, but the father of Luke Skywalker will always beat the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia one way or another.
You Don’t Need A Bounty Hunter To Find Star Wars Products
While there is enough Star Wars product to fill 9,000 Death Star trash compactors, the report examined a sample of 104 Star Wars-themed products on Amazon (including toys, games and costumes) and checked their availability across competitors:
- Walmart carried 89% of the sample assortment (including similar products);
- Target carried 64%;
- Jet carried 60%; and
- Toys “R” Us carried 53%.
Where To Get The Most For Your Imperial Credits, Er, Dollars
Although Han Solo said, “Never tell me the odds,” the odds are, if a shopper is looking for something Star Wars-related, they will go to Amazon. The retail giant offered the largest assortment of toys, games, costumes and accessories, averaging nearly 13 times more products than its closest competitor, Walmart, while offering the lowest price on overlapping assortment 78% of the time. Amazon was followed by Walmart, which offered the lowest prices 54% of the time, and then Jet (48%), Target (28%), and Toys “R” Us (11%).
These Are The Droids You Are Looking For
No matter which side you choose, dark or light, any scruffy looking Nerf-herder can see that Star Wars will remain a huge retail winner for many years to come as movies, television spin-offs and a myriad of other tie-ins are rolled out. So, to all retailers across the galaxies, keep your shelves stocked, and reasonably priced, with Droids, Hutts, Fetts, Sith and Jedi, and may the Force, and the sales, be with you.
Click here to download the full report.
