- Adults aged 18+ spent $1.5 billion on toys between January-April
- Some toy brands are leaning into this trend and releasing products aimed at more mature buyers
- Overall toy sales down year-on-year
For the first time demand for toys by adults outstripped demand from preschoolers, according to new research.
Toy-buying trend
Consumer trends research firm Circana found that adults spent $1.5 billion on toys between January and April this year.
Circana also reported that 43% of adults said they bought a toy for themselves in the past 12 months.
This trend is helping to prop up toy sales in the US where sales fell markedly last year – down 8% to $28 billion.
Although even with adults buying toys in greater numbers, overall toy sales are still down 1% year-on-year, according to Circana.
While part of this fall is down to constrained household budgets, it also comes after a boom in sales during the pandemic years when families, stuck at home, bought a wide range of toys to help pass the time together.
Childhood reminders
One key trend is among Gen Xers and elder Millennials for buying plush toys that remind them of their childhood such as Beany Babies.
Some toy brands have been leaning into this trend for some time. For example, Lego has been offering sets with thousands of people costing hundreds of dollars – such as the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars – for years. There are thriving communities of ‘adult fans of Lego’ who enjoy building models in their spare time. Some have said that it helps with their mental health.
Toy lines that tend to sell well among adults, in addition to those mentioned are action figures, trading cards and model sets. Some have likened the trend to other generations that buy antiques or other collectibles.
