The toy industry has its sights set on a new market: "kidults." (The term has become an industry buzzword, notes Forbes.) Nostalgic and collectible toy purchases by grownups—from Hot Wheels to Barbies to Lego sets—are reshaping what is hitting the shelves, the Los Angeles Times reports. Today, kidult toy purchases remain on an upswing in the US, bringing in up to 25% of sales depending on the brand, and continue to show promising numbers:
- Adults spent $7 billion on toys for themselves during the 12-month period ending in June 2024.
- From January to April, toys bought for adults in the US—beat all other age groups, including preschoolers, for the first time.
- From April through June, year-over-year sales jumped 10% for adults 18 through 34, and 9% for grownups 35 and up.
While pandemic buying put adult customers on some toy companies' radar, kidults have always been around. "Hasbro was early to embrace the adult consumer long before kidult became a buzzword," James Zahn, editor of the Toy Book trade publication, tells Forbes. Hasbro, for example, is seeing a spike in the sale of G.I. Joe action figures, including a pricey collector series called G.I. Joe Classified. But the toys most treasured by grownups include Pokémon, Star Wars, Lego Star Wars sets, Squishmallows stuffies, and Funko Pop! figures. "I'm just thrilled that the rest of the industry and society is catching up," says Mattel president and chief commercial officer Steve Totzke, "because I do believe that play is essential and you should be enjoying toys and joy at all ages." (More toys stories.)
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