A new study reveals that for the first time, demand for toys among toy lovers aged 18 and over, particularly millennials and Gen Xers, is outstripping demand from preschoolers, driving sales of $1.5 billion from January to April.
When asked about the trend, popular online toy influencer Dan Larson told the New York Post that while today’s children don’t engage with physical toys in the same way that previous generations did, adults, described in Circana’s research as “the most important age group for the toy industry,” are increasingly buying toys for themselves, with 43% buying toys for personal use in the past year. (Related: Fisher-Price Launches Drug-Themed Toys for Kids; People Call for Boycott)
According to ABC 8 WFAA, some of the new products and items that Millennials and Gen Xers particularly like include trading cards, Lego sets and sports toys.
The toy industry has struggled to recover from a boom during the pandemic, when families stocked up on toys while staying at home. U.S. toy sales fell 8% to $28 billion last year after growing just 1% year-over-year, according to the New York Post. The decline came after strong growth in 2020 and 2021, when industry revenues soared 17%.
But the numbers for 2024 are still paltry, with current toy sales down 1% year-over-year through April and total units sold down 2%, according to Circana data. As a result, toy makers are now starting to direct their advertising and attention to these adult consumers.
Adults are now increasingly buying collectible stuffed animals such as Squishmallows, which are similar to Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch dolls that were popular in the 1980s and 1990s. These plush toys alone were the top-selling toy in the first quarter, thanks in large part to adult collectors, according to Circana.
“LEGO has a staff member in charge of outreach to AFOLs. [adult fans of Lego]”We have people buying the $200 sets,” Toy Insider editor James Zahn said, according to the New York Post.
But Larson says that for people who grew up with toys, their attachment to them is more due to nostalgia and sentimentality than simple accumulation — essentially, the kids who grew up enjoying toys have become adults with more money to spend on them.
Larson has tried to explain why so many adults are still fascinated with the toys today, even creating a video on his popular YouTube channel to dispel the notion that adults collecting action figures might be embarrassing.
Larson ultimately concluded that it’s a bit more complicated than a simple “yes” or “no” question, and that it ultimately comes down to whether it brings joy to the people who collect it.
“If a little plastic doll brightens up your world even a little bit, don’t let anyone take that away from you,” Larson said at the time.
