Bunnings Warehouse is now selling Christmas meerkat statues

A customer was mortified after buying a “scary” glow-in-the-dark holiday garden statue at Bunnings Warehouse.

Chantelle, from Western Australia, bought the $49 Christmas meerkat statue complete with solar-powered LED lighting in its eyes and nose.

But in the evening she was petrified by the actual look of the product and shared images on the Bunnings Mums Australia Facebook group with a funny caption.

“Thought it would be cute…damn Bunnings got me dirty,” she wrote, and the photo shows just how scary the ornament looks at night.

Other members of the Facebook group were quick to jump into the comments and share their amusement at the situation.

“I looked at them and wondered why they didn’t have any on display now I know why,” wrote one woman with two laughing emojis.

‘That’s so funny. I want a whole yard of these looking at the souls of passers-by,” said another.

A third added: ‘Oh, gosh, you got dirty. He was looking at this and telling my partner how nice it would look in my garden. This has determined that it was a lie.

In the comments, Chantelle added: “It looks cute when it’s not night, I may not let it charge.”

Others described the animal motif as “very creepy” but could work well to “keep possums away.”

Earlier this year for Halloween, Bunnings released a 60cm tall grim reaper and meerkat witch for $39 less than $60 that are also designed with the same LED feature.

Bunnings released the statues after Woolworths began selling similar meerkat designs in 2020.

Animal ornaments, which are available for just $10 at Woolworths when available, have been one of the supermarket’s most popular items.

However, they are more than double the size and price in Bunnings.

Bunnings’ meerkats are not only 15 inches taller than the Woolworths statues, but they also have solar powered LED light-up eyes.

With Halloween drawing ever closer, the adorable characters of the witch and the grim reaper are on sale in stores and online.

One Queensland customer said he was “literally jumping around” with excitement after scoring two for $15 each in a post for Markdown Addicts Australia.

The bargain hunter spotted the popular Meerkats on sale at her local Bunnings in Noosaville down to .

A staff member price matched the statues after he showed them a photo he had seen online of the statues for sale for $15 at another store.

Many in the comments pointed out, however, that not all Bunnings locations will price match clearance items, as they vary from store to store.

‘Bunnings doesn’t have to match the settlement price, and usually doesn’t, so don’t be surprised if they don’t. Each store has different prices based on how much they have in the store, how much space they have, and how quickly they want to get rid of it,” one member warned.

‘I just got a very nice lady who also wanted to get rid of them. She asked me if she wanted more than two when we were checking out, it was amazing,” the buyer explained.

The meerkat dressed as the grim reaper ornament is still available in stores and online, however the witch is sold out everywhere.

Those missing out on Halloween meerkats might be lucky enough to get their hands on the other two designs Bunnings has in stock.

For the festive season, there’s a meerkat statue of a Christmas reindeer with light-up eyes and a red nose, as well as an Australian-themed meerkat complete with shorts, thongs, and barbecue tongs holding a sausage, both for $99.

There are dozens of designs available on the smaller meerkat garden statues at Woolworths from $2.50 to $20.

The cult collectibles were relaunched by the supermarket giant last month as it predicted around 150,000 would be sold.

There are 45 characters available to choose from, including meerkats dressed as a surf lifeguard, pilot, magician, beach dancer, singer, and more.

Last year, Woolworths revealed that a whopping 60,000 meerkat statues had been sold in less than a month.

On social media, customers have shown off their impressive collections after buying almost the entire range.

The supermarket also sells a range of more than 48 native wildlife ornaments, with 50p from each sale set to help Australian native wildlife through the Woolworths and WIRES Wildlife Food Program.

Last month, shoppers noticed a select number of new meerkat statues being released in stores.

Mumma Ren, a mother of two, shared the news on Facebook and others were eager to go to the supermarket.

‘The meerkats are BACK at Woolworths. I’m sure more designs will be released,” she wrote online, posting images of the new statues.

I want them for the house! one person wrote, another added: “So cute.”

In the comments, one fan admitted that she has purchased 157 of the meerkats so far and is looking forward to expanding the collection.

Customers can’t get enough of the cult buy as they are deemed ‘adorable’ and ‘cute’.

In 2021, the characters included Olympians, fairies, brides and grooms, as well as $20 solar-lit meerkats and $5 DIY meerkat painting kits.

The shop had doubled its order in 2020, but still managed to sell the equivalent of 2019 stock in the first week as shoppers snapped up meerkats in record numbers.

Woolworths general manager for daily necessities, James Hepworth, previously said the supermarket was “thrilled” about the restocking after the statues enjoyed such “great popularity” last time around.

“Customers exceeded our demand expectations for these meerkats last year, and this year they will find a range of new and quirky designs and personalities as a way to get families out of the home and garden,” he said.

Demand for garden and DIY products has skyrocketed since the pandemic began in early 2020 as people spend more and more time at home.

Several happy customers shared images of the meerkats on Facebook after purchasing the product from the store for the first time.

“How adorable these meerkat statues are currently in Woolworths, so many different ones,” said one woman.

‘They are so cute!’ another said, and a third added: ‘I need to go find some!’