Taiwanese are no strangers to vending machines and their mechanical cousins, the ubiquitous claw game machines. Introduced to Taiwan in 2020, Pop Mart Robo Shop takes this concept to an entirely new level and has been steadily growing in number and popularity across the nation, including Taichung, which currently has four of these intelligent machines, selling a vast array of collectible toy figurines and other items.
Founded in Beijing in 2010, parent company Popmart International Group Ltd. focuses on producing and selling hundreds of toy figurines created in cooperation with toy, cartoon and animated character designers, children’s picture book artists, renowned studios like Marvel, DC, Disney and Warner, and other creators. The company’s large Robo Shop vending machines, later joined by physical stores, sell these figurines for NT$270-470 (Easy Card, credit cards, LINE Pay, Apple Pay; no cash), plus other items like phone cases and stands, key chains, car fragrances and fridge magnets.
Every machine holds about 30 “IPs” (intellectual property), each a series of 12 different characters, with a total of about 300 sometimes limited-edition IPs and 1-2 new series added each week. Customers use the machine’s screen to search for and select a series—from DC’s “Gotham City” characters to Little Maruko-chan, Hacipupu, and “My Little Pony” series—and watch as a robotic arm pulls a box from rows of shelves. The boxes in each series are identical and customers can’t be sure which character they’ll get, although the company’s social media channel allows collectors to trade with each other. In an added twist, there is always a chance they’ll get each series’ special 13th character, whose value among collectors can range from about NT$1,000 to NT$10,000. There are also regular feature special events, like “buy 3 and get a gift” and a discounted machine-chosen random selection, complete with feinted moves by the robotic arm, music and spotlights.
The nonstop cluster of customers—averaging 24 to 40 years old—in front of Taichung machines suggests that Pop Mart Robo Shops will become an increasingly common sight as they continue to rapidly spread around Taiwan and the world.
Taichung Pop Mart Robo Shop locations: Chung Yo Department Store Building “A” 3F (opposite ABC Mart); Mitsukoshi Department Store 12F (beside food court); LaLaport North Building 1F (near Starbucks); Park Lane by CMP B1 level.
台灣人對於販賣機和相關產業—無所不在的夾娃娃機並不陌生，在2020年引進台灣的泡泡瑪特機器人商店將此概念提升至全新的水平，同時在國內仍持續受到歡迎。台中市目前已擁有4台這樣的智能機器，售賣各式各樣可收藏的玩具人偶及其他商品。
泡泡瑪特文化創意有限公司是一家成立於2010年的公司，其總部位於北京。該公司主要專注於與玩具、卡通和動畫角色設計師、兒童繪本藝術家，以及諸如漫威、DC漫畫、迪士尼和華納等知名工作室及其他創作者合作，生產和銷售數百種玩具人偶。該公司的大型機器人專賣店，後來又加入實體店鋪，提供這些人偶的售賣服務，售價在270~470元之間（接受悠遊卡、信用卡、LINE Pay和Apple Pay，不接受現金），此外還出售其他商品，如手機殼、手機支架、鑰匙圈、車用香氛和冰箱磁貼等。
每台機器擁有約30個智慧財產權(IP)，每個IP包含12個不同的角色，總共約有300個有時限定版的IP，每週會新增1-2個新的系列。顧客可以使用機器的屏幕來搜索並選擇一個系列，從DC漫畫的高譚市角色到小丸子、Hacipupu幼稚園系列和彩虹小馬系列，然後觀察機器手臂從一排排的貨架上取出一個盒子。每個系列中的盒子都是相同的，顧客不會知道得到哪個角色，但該公司的社交媒體頻道允許收藏家之間進行交換。另外，還有一個特別的驚喜，即是顧客有機會得到每個系列的第13個特別角色，這些特別角色在收藏家中的價值可能從約一千元到一萬元不等。還有定期的特殊活動，例如買3送禮和特價機器隨機選擇，機器手臂也會呈現假動作搭配音樂和聚光燈等效果。
在台中不斷湧現的機器愛好者顧客群，平均年齡介於24~40歲之間，顯示泡泡瑪特機器人商店將會成為在台灣及全球迅速擴散的越來越普遍的景象。
泡泡瑪特機器人商店位置：中友百貨A棟3樓(在ABC Mart對面)；新光三越12樓(美食街旁)、LaLaPort北棟一樓(靠近星巴克)、勤美綠園道B1