When I saw the store images of POPOP, the jewelry brand under Pop Mart, I was instantly struck. Characters like Molly and LABUBU, once hidden inside blind boxes, have now transformed into solid gold pendants and enamel beads. A 0.6-gram brush pendant sells for 1,080 yuan, yet young people willingly pay for "wearable trendy toys," with bestsellers selling out within 90 minutes of the store's opening. This crossover has made everyone exclaim about the intense competition, and it also hits on a new reality in the jewelry industry: young people's jewelry consumption is no longer just about the material; it's about emotional resonance and personal expression.
Pop Mart's jewelry venture wins by precisely understanding the needs of its young customers. Instead of following the traditional jewelry path of "gold price + crafting fee," it hardwires IP emotional premium, design scarcity, and scenario-based demand into its products. For example, Baby Molly's astronaut helmet design and LABUBU's heart-shaped beads retain the recognizability of trendy toys while giving jewelry new contexts like "daily wear" and "self-reward." This transforms gold from a "wedding necessity for mom's generation" into a lightweight luxury item that young people can wear to work or social gatherings. The store design deeply understands the youth psychology, with IP-themed zones paired with soft lighting, creating an immersive, exhibition-like space that makes customers want to take photos and share, spontaneously becoming "free promoters."
Faced with such crossover players, how can traditional jewelry stores break through? The answer lies in the details of "making jewelry understand young people better," and lighting is the most direct and effective amplifier of competitiveness.
Good lighting can give jewelry its own "eye-catching filter" and reshape the shopping experience: display windows use high-contrast lighting to focus on key items, with brightness 30% higher than the surroundings, easily capturing the attention of passersby. In consultation areas, 2700K warm wall lights paired with adjustable desk lamps create a soft glow that makes tried-on jewelry flatter the skin and relaxes communication, naturally doubling the closing rate. Stores can even use dynamic lighting effects to create photo spots—for example, gradient light strips with curved counters—making young people eager to take out their phones and share, bringing free traffic to the store.
While Pop Mart uses IP to reconstruct the emotional value of jewelry, traditional jewelry stores don't need to anxiously follow the trend. By mastering the "invisible business strategy" of lighting—precisely presenting the texture of every piece and creating a shopping environment with immersion and social appeal—they can maintain their core advantages in fierce competition and steadily win the hearts of young consumers.