Cash in or keep? What Australians are really doing with their Ooshies

Almost one in five Ooshies collectors plan to sell them online, while two in five plan to keep them, according to a new YouGov survey.

The news comes as the Woolworths Disney Ooshies promotion officially ends this week, on August 25 – although the supermarket announced it had run out two weeks before the official end date, leaving some shoppers still scrambling to complete their collections.

“Ooshies clearly struck a chord with Australian shoppers, parents in particular went out of their way to collect them,” Fumin Rianto, Research Director at YouGov Australia, said.

“But what’s really interesting is what happens next: a genuine online resale economy has sprung up around them, and there’s a real conversation to be had about where all these tiny plastic collectables end up once the craze fades.”

YouGov reached out to 1102 Aussie shoppers between to ask about their plans for their Disney Ooshies collections.

Eighteen per cent of those surveyed said they plan to sell their completed collections, with this number increasing to 26 per cent for younger Gen Z and Millennial shoppers.

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A further 39 per cent said they plan to give their Ooshies to family and friends, while 39 per cent will keep them as a personal collection, and 18 per cent plan to donate them or pass them along to others.

There are several eBay listings from sellers for completed Woolworths Disney Ooshie collections.

These range in price from $51 for a collection being sold without a case, and as high as $286 for a collection that comes with the case.

Individual Ooshies are also being offered for sale on eBay including Anna from Frozen, Mike from Monster’s Inc Joy from Inside Out, Moana, and Wolverine. These range in price from $6.90 to $27.20.

Ultra rare Ooshies are selling for more, including a gold R2-D2 from Star Wars which has is up to $212.69 and a gold Judy Hopps from Zootopia listed for sale at $160.

On Facebook, the collectibles are being sought out by families yet to complete their collections, while some are happy to offload multiples they have collected that they don’t need.

Woolworths does offer an in-store recycling option for those looking to rid themselves of unwanted Ooshies.

YouGov reports 11 per cent of those surveyed as planning to recycle them, while 10 per cent admitted they plan to throw the plastic figures in the bin.

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Millennials are the most likely group to keep their completed collections (51 per cent).

They are also the most likely to return them to Woolworths for recycling (17 per cent).

The Disney Ooshies collectibles promotion has proved to be a big hit, with four out of 10 (39 per cent) of those surveyed saying it changed the way they shopped.

Sixty-four per cent of parents with children under 18 said they altered their grocery buying habits for the promotion, more than three times the rate of non-parents (18 per cent).

Meanwhile, 68 per cent of collectors altered their behaviour to complete their collections.

Woolworths shoppers were able to redeem one Ooshie for every $30 spent at the supermarket.