Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a treasure trove of characters that are a delight to engage with. Every animal in the series has a different role, which provides players with a well-rounded island full of diverse personalities, interests, and activities. Even the traveling sales-animals bring some new and different spice to a player’s island. One returning character that is always fun to talk to is Kicks, a skunk who has come to a player’s island to sell some of his goods.
Kicks is a special visitor in Animal Crossing that comes to sell wares if players have bells. Kicks will come to a player’s island once a week and sell a variety of clothing items that the Able Sisters (or anyone else on the island for that matter) do not sell. This gives players the opportunity to get their hands on items and clothing styles that were previously out of reach. Finding Kicks is fairly simple, although players will have to upgrade some of their island amenities in order to have Kicks show up.
Further Reading
- How to make the most out of the Animal Crossing custom designs feature
- How to pass Label’s clothing challenge in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- How to plant money trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
How do you get Kicks to visit the island?
Kicks will show up fairly early in the game. In order to have Kicks arrive on player’s islands, players must have the Able Sisters’ store on their island. This means that players are going to have to spend a lot of bells at Mabel’s stand in front of the Resident Services building before Kicks even considers arriving at the island. After spending a fair amount of bells at Mabel’s stand (somewhere around 5,000 bells), this will trigger Mabel to ask players to set up a location for her new store. After securing a location for the store and 48 hours of building, Mabel will be ready to launch the Abel Sisters’ Shop with her older sister, Sabel.
Once the Able Sisters’ store is set up, Kicks should start visiting once a week as a traveling vendor. Much like Label and Leif, Kicks will be found in front of the Residential Services building on a random day of the week. It’s also important to note that the Residential Services building must be upgraded to its full potential. Unlike Mabel, Kicks won’t come to visit if the Residential Services building is on a dirt town square rather than the fully upgraded brick. This sort of makes sense, as Kicks sells mostly shoes, and who wants to get their shoes dirty?
While visiting, Kicks will stay in front of the Residential Services building from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., giving players an ample amount of time to search for bells to spend with Kicks. Players will be able to purchase socks and shoes that the Able Sisters’ store does not carry. Additionally, Kicks is the only character that sells backpacks, crossbody bags, messenger bags, and purses. This is what really defines Kicks as different from any of the shops and vendors that come around. There is no one else on the island who sells bags of any sort to players. Unfortunately, the bags provided by Kicks do not actually provide players with more space in their inventory. The bags are just another way for players to show off their style to the other island residents.
The only downside is that players will not be able to try on Kicks’ items. Instead, players will have to stare at the small item in the window and sort of gauge what the shoes or backpack would look like when worn. Although this can be frustrating, getting new shoes, socks, and bags is definitely rewarding. The items Kicks carries are pretty adorable and can be worn with a variety of outfits.
In past renditions of the game (namely, Animal Crossing: New Leaf), Kicks was actually given his own shop in the town for players and villagers to visit as often as they would like, and the inventory would change daily. However, it seems in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Kicks is just a traveling vendor rather than a permanent island fixture. So be sure to check the town square every day! Kicks could be waiting to sell the best shoes and bags.