Woolworths’ Ooshies craze causes Coles sales slump with parents shopping at rival supermarket to collect toys

Coles full-year results show that despite gaining market share over past 12 months, sales fell over four weeks of ‘competitor’s collectables campaign’

Woolworths’ latest Disney “Ooshie” collectables have not only captivated Australian children, they have led to a short-term slump in competitor Coles’ sales.

The latest rubber figurine promotion was scheduled to end on Tuesday, but strong customer interest meant Woolworths prematurely ran out of Ooshies a week ago.

Coles on Tuesday released its full-year results, showing it had grown supermarket sales and gained market share against Woolworths in the 12 months to June.

Growth continued into July but then slumped amid a “competitor’s collectables campaign”, Coles announced.

That was a reference to Woolworths’ recent Ooshies promotion of Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters that could be collected after a customer spent $30.

The Coles chief executive, Leah Weckert, said the moderation in sales was a “temporary impact” lasting nearly four weeks. It mostly affected bricks-and-mortar shops rather than online shopping.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said the impact of the Woolworths campaign could scare Coles investors.

Ooshies, designed to fit onto the top of pens or pencils, come in generic packaging. It’s not clear what figure you’ve recieved until the pack is ripped open, mostly by keen children who then trade the Ooshies at home or school in an attempt to collect all 40 characters.

Schoolchildren also stage Ooshie battles where they flick the characters to try and knock down competitors’ figures.

Woolworths has hosted dedicated swap meets across the country in recent weeks to help customers complete their collections .

Adult customers have turned to online marketplaces to trade Ooshies. A dedicated Facebook Ooshie swap group added almost 2,500 members in the past week and now has more than 45,000 members.

The 2019 Ooshies craze culminated in two farmers destroying a rare lion Ooshie live on TV in a protest against online bullying .

Prof Gary Mortimer, a consumer behaviour expert at the Queensland University of Tehcnology, said Ooshies could help children build social skills – similar to when youngsters traded marbles last century.