tl;dr - people buy products to unbox, not to use.
Companies are getting wise to the power of gambling. They put something in a box and, who knows, it could be the one you want. Most people think "neat, how fun", while others scalp for unboxing content. They buy a fat stack of nee-dohs, live stream the unboxing, and the products sit in the closet for 20 years. The product's initial purpose shifts from being a toy, to generating engagement.
Gachafication isn't new - card packs, video games, ordering off a menu you can't read. It's the gamble, the hope, the exciting victory of pure luck. I've been cranking coin slots since I was a kid, fingers crossed I got that sick looking gundam. My japanese teacher told me they're called "gachas" because the machines make a "ga-cha" sound when used. If you've never seen a gacha, they work like gumball machines.
Now companies can bank on pushing products solely for the purpose of driving engagement for themselves, and for their customers. This creates a vicious fad cycle of supply and demand, especially on social media echo chambers. I expect to see Tesla dropping mystery wraps soon.
