Adults shopping for themselves drove a significant portion of toy sales in 2023. The primary motivations behind these purchases are nostalgic appeal, collectability, and offline social play. While overall toy sales have seen a downturn, 'kidult' sales actually increased by 6%. This trend seems to be driven by an emotional connection to childhood memories, as nostalgia has been found to combat loneliness and increase a sense of meaning and purpose in life.
Although children still dominate toy sales, more adults are seeking play experiences that tap into their inner child. Physical media, like vinyl records, has already seen a resurgence among young people, highlighting a growing preference for tangible experiences over digital. Gen Yers, in particular, have a strong desire for collectible physical items, making them a prime target for rebooted classic toys from the 90s and 2000s, such as Furby and Sanrio.
At Canvas8 we've been tracking consumers desire for nostalgia and kidulting for quite a while. Don't miss out on understanding this growing market and its implications for the future. Get in touch to learn more!
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Executive Assistant at Auto Collectors Garage, Inc
7moI worked at Toys R Us 7002 from 1982-1985, and the Galleria store 7031 from 1992 thru 1996. I loved working there...wanted to be a manager so bad but a manager who didn't want to let me go (Adrian Lopez) and another one who didn't like that I wouldn't play politics (Carlos something or other) kept turning my district manager (Charles Reed) down. Probably for the best, but man... I did love that company.