Time To Go Shopping For Your Grown-Up Toys

Around this time of year, folks with kids of all ages have plenty of toys on their holiday shopping lists. According to the latest trends, however, you don’t have to be a child to get a lot of enjoyment out of child's play.

More and more adults are revisiting the days of their youth by purchasing some of the toys that they played with a generation or more ago.

The ‘kid-adult market’ by the numbers

There’s a name for the expanding trend of grown-ups shopping in the toy aisle. Industry insiders refer to it as the “kid-adult market” and the data suggest that it’s becoming an increasingly large share of the overall toy industry.

Here are some of the statistics to keep in mind:

• About 14% of domestic toy sales over the past year have been on behalf of people over 18 years old.
• That share of the market has topped about $5.7 billion in sales.
• The “kid-adult market” has grown by an estimated 19% over the course of just one year.

What’s behind the shift

Nostalgia has always been a reason for some adults to rekindle their infatuation with children’s toys, but there’s definitely something behind the latest trend.

According to toy review site TTPM’s editor Jim Silver, however, the onset of the pandemic added fuel to the fire.

A number of toymakers have answered the call by releasing new versions of classic products geared more toward an adult consumer base. Lego appears to be ahead of the curve.

As the company’s senior director explained: “The pandemic certainly served as a catalyst for this trend as adults found themselves stuck at home with nothing else to do with a lot of time on their hands. But we do believe that the trend goes beyond the pandemic.”

Chris Agee December 21st, 2022

Share this story: