Woolworths’ Ooshies promotion is heading into its final week. While some shoppers scramble to complete their collections – 40 squishy rubber characters from Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel, each equating to a $30 Woolworths spend – others can’t wait till the madness is over.
Here at the Consumer NZ office, we have representatives from both camps.
INDIA: When I first saw the Ooshies promo on Woolworths’ website, I literally gasped. “Come quick!” I called to my six-year-old. “Woolworths has a new collectible!” Oh, how we celebrated. Don’t get me wrong – I’m as appalled by grocery prices and cynical about corporations as the next person – but I can be appalled while squeezing a little gold Lightning McQueen. Honestly, it helps.
FRANK: I am aware I’m risking accusations of pooping on your party here. But the moral position isn’t always the fun one, and I feel a duty to speak my truth: Ooshies are corporate poison, and emblematic of the social and economic decline ailing modern civilisation. There, I said it. Parents, children and Disney fans: forgive me, but you have fallen into the supermarket giant’s trap and it pains me to stand by and watch.
INDIA: Momentarily distracted by your turn of phrase – do party poopers “poop on” people’s parties? Horrifying.
Anyway, back to Ooshies. It’s important to note that I’m not changing my behaviour in any way because of this promotion. I already shop exclusively at Woolworths. (I know Pak’nSave is cheaper, but it doesn’t deliver, and at this stage of my life – young kid, full-time job – I’m willing to pay extra for convenience.) I’m not falling into anyone’s trap; I’m merely taking the good (a cute treat for my son) with the bad (exorbitant food prices).
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FRANK: That’s wonderful for you, and anyone who happens to fall into the Venn diagram of parent/child/Disney fan, already shops at Woolworths, possesses the willpower to not change their spending behaviour to appease the “pester power” of their young child or their own primal desire to complete a collection.
But Woolworths is explicitly banking on this promotion making them more money. A full set of 40 Ooshies at $30 each means at least $1,200 of Woolworths spending, and that’s only if the supermarket gods bless you with no duplicates. You’re definitely gonna get duplicates and have to spend a lot more than $1,200 if you want the set.
A similar collectibles promotion run by Coles in 2018, Little Shop, added over $AU200 million in sales. If people didn’t spend more, or shop at Woolworths instead of other grocery stores, then they wouldn’t bother doing it. The house always wins.
INDIA: Hmm. I’ll admit you’ve made me take a long, hard look in the mirror, Evil Queen–style, and what I see is ... not the fairest of them all. You’re right – if I were a swing shopper (like swing voter), I would indeed be more inclined to go to Woolworths because of Ooshies. You’re also right that I feel a primal desire to complete my – ahem, my son’s – collection. And yes, I have enormous fondness for Disney as a mainstay of my childhood, regardless of what adult India thinks of its business practices.
And yet. By scorning the people who collect and enjoy Ooshies, aren’t you missing the point? Whether you go to Woolworths for Ooshies or New World for Smeg knives or Pak’nSave (which, like New World, is owned by Foodstuffs) for lower prices, you’re still giving your money to Big Supermarket. Together, those two companies control 82% of grocery retail in New Zealand. Until politicians regulate the sector properly, the house will continue to win, Ooshies or no Ooshies.
FRANK: To borrow a phrase from Nicola Willis, I reject that characterisation. I don’t scorn Ooshie enjoyers, I acknowledge the reality: gambling psychology and gamification are powerful tools used by corporate marketing teams to squeeze more dollars out of their customers. These “blind” packs and rare collectible items are literally designed to manipulate you. The little Disney figurines might seem innocent, but the strategy behind them isn’t. It’s basically gambling for children! Worse, they’re causing “disruptions and fights” among kids, leading some schools to ban them.
Like it or not, participating in these promotions only encourages further dastardly deeds by powerful companies. We ought to reject these cynical ploys, vote with our wallets and show the buggers we won’t be so easily manipulated.
INDIA: But what would that even look like? I could untick the “I’m collecting Ooshies” box on my online shopping order, but that wouldn’t be voting with my wallet. I, like most New Zealanders, am still stuck between a rock (Woolworths) and a hard place (Foodstuffs). By turning down the one morsel of enjoyment I get from grocery shopping, I’d only be hurting myself.
FRANK: I’m all for getting what you can in this life. You’re lucky to sit in the middle of that Venn diagram I mentioned earlier. By all means, stamp those loyalty cards, cash in those Airpoints, and collect those Ooshies if you must. But please don’t let it change your shopping behaviour! If supermarkets can win your custom with silly giveaways, they don’t have to compete on price, and everybody loses.
INDIA: Pfft, I don’t see them doing much to “compete on price” even during those dark, depressing stretches between giveaways. But I can see there’s no convincing you. It’s time to present the ace up my sleeve – this adorable photo of you, smiling with childlike wonder, sent to me by none other than your girlfriend. I rest my case.
