I have recently been wavering between the Pepsi and the Batman, which led to a question: which is more popular, the steel Pepsi bezel or the Batman bezel? And are the claims made in magazines actually substantiated?
From Chrono24, it can be seen that the average selling price of the new Batman is 634,000, higher than the Pepsi’s 601,000; however, observing the Taiwan market, the Pepsi’s price is slightly higher than the Batman’s by about 10,000. Therefore, channeling my inner tech geek, I conducted a specific investigation.
From Google Trends, it can be seen that after the steel Pepsi bezel was released in March 2018, it immediately became a hit, and subsequently gradually reached parity with the old three-link bracelet Batman; after the new Batman was released in March 2019, it boosted the momentum of the old version, even surpassing the new version. In the last two months, the global inquiry rate for the new Batman was 52%, slightly higher than the Pepsi’s 48%, but if the old Batman is included, the overall inquiry rate for the Batman at 70% is far higher than the Pepsi’s 30%.
Excluding the old Batman, in the last two months in the US, the Batman’s inquiry rate was 52% and the Pepsi’s was 48%; in Japan, the Batman’s
was 47% and the Pepsi’s was 53%. The data for Taiwan is too sparse to make a judgment.
Conclusion:
Recent data shows that if only looking at the new models, the two are on par; among them, the US favors the Batman, Europe is on par, and Asia favors the Pepsi. If the old models are included, the Batman’s overall popularity is higher than the Pepsi’s, and the inquiry rate for the old models is higher.
MythBusters:
Q: Is the Pepsi more popular?
A: The momentum of the Pepsi in 2018 was actually comparable to the old Batman in 2013; the trend of the new Batman in 2019 remains to be observed.
Q: Did the Pepsi drive Batman sales?
A: The search volume for the old Batman from 2013 to 2018 was quite stable; the release of the Pepsi in March 2018 did not significantly boost the inquiry rate for the old Batman.
Q: Did the new Batman drive sales of the old version?
A: The appearance of the new Batman in March 2019 clearly boosted the momentum of the old version, but the inquiry rate for the old version remained higher, possibly because the five-link bracelet is less accepted than the three-link bracelet.
Future Trends:
GMT Master II Pepsi and Batman two-tone ceramic bezels have always had a synergistic effect in sales. With the promotional push for the new Batman this year, it is estimated that the discontinued old Batman will remain hot in the secondary market for several more years.
References:
Search overview from 2012 to 2019 – Rolex GMT Master II steel two-tone ceramic bezel related models
