New research shows a dramatic increase in targeted online searches and purchases of products and memorabilia linked to our favourite TV shows and movies.

While consumers have traditionally queued for a logo-covered T-shirt from their favourite Rolling Stones rock concert, or bought a coffee mug with a famous face on it, a bunch of TV series have triggered a new phenomenon.

It’s called the “Netflix Effect”.

While it’s been the oft-used snappy slogan about the streaming giant’s influence on our subscriptions or what we watch, it’s also about their influence with online marketplaces booming as they release (or re-release) binge-worthy shows.

According to Catawiki, a high-end European-based online merchant selling everything from racing cars to gold nuggets, since season six of hugely popular racing car series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive was released on February 23, they recorded a 40 per cent increase in searches for “Formula 1”.

To back up their data, they did an historic search and found that since the series debut in 2019 – when Netflix first collaborated with F1 – a “booming motorsport memorabilia market” translated into a 500 per cent surge on their platform.

Here’s the fun fact – the most expensive F1 item sold on Catawiki was our very own prodigy, Daniel Ricciardo’s Scuderia Toro Rosso which sold for €315,000 ($610,000) last year, followed by the late Brazilian driving champ Ayrton Senna’s early race helmet which sold for €46,000 ($89,000).

The Ferrari helmet of retired racer Michael Schumacher, who was critically injured after a skiing accident in 2013 sold for €24,000 ($46,500).

The Netflix Effect is not unique to Drive to Survive, says the report.

“The release of other popular shows such as The Crown, Tour de France: Unchained, Stranger Things and Bridgerton” were also ranked among the titles which attracted “art, fashion and interiors” sales.

How much is that gold candelabra worth? Love the show, buy the art. Photo: Netflix

Bridgerton

Catawiki says since its inception in 2008, it now conduct 600 auctions online every week with up to 75,000 collectables including art, design, jewellery, watches and cars for sale.

When the second season of Bridgerton premiered in 2022, searches for Regency-era objet d’art – library stairs, a gilded ceiling lamp or coffee table – jumped 60 per cent, with only the lamp still available to buy online.

Anya Taylor-Joy brought joy to millions, playing chess. Photo: Netflix

The Queen’s Gambit

Thanks to the clever 2020 drama series which follows young chess prodigy Beth Harmon, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, a passion for the game was triggered and sales of chess boards on multiple online websites skyrocketed.

“The Queen’s Gambit effect on chess was colossal,” writes chess.com, where millions head to learn and play the game.

According to CNN, a record 62 million households watched the Netflix miniseries in the first week, and led to massive interest in chess-related items.

In the first three weeks after its debut, sales of chess sets went up by 87 per cent in the US and sales of books about chess leaped 603 per cent, according to marketing research company NPD Group.

Maya Hawke, Joe Keery with Gaten Matarazzo, whose image was immortalised by pop artist Agustin Iglesias.

Stranger Things

In the months following the release of the latest series in late May 2022, searches for “Stranger Things” increased by 140 per cent and 240 per cent in June and July respectively.

Fandom bought Catawiki’s LEGO set, a Dillon Boy and an Agustin Iglesias painting.

Tour de France: Unchained

Premiering in June last year, predictably, fans wanted bikes, and were attracted to a particular brand used by cycling Team Jumbo-Visma.

Racer Jonas Vingegaard’s Cervélo R5 sold for €20,000 ($33,600) and Pinot’s Lapierre Symbiosis bike became the favourite Tour object sold on Catawiki, with the final bid coming in at €12,600 ($19,200).

Outside the Netflix shows, Catawiki says they get a stack of hits when blockbuster movies come out.

When Barbie premiered seven months ago, sales of Barbie dolls on the marketplace doubled, with their average value increasing by more than 20 per cent.

A letter signed by Napoleon on the eve of his abdication was bought by a French user in the wake of the 2023 Ridley Scott biopic.