The Toy Industry Is Thriving, But Not Because Kids Are Buying
The holiday season is a crucial time of the year for the toy industry as during this time, all toy sales increase, especially board games, puzzles, and play sets. It should be a solid sector of the market, as kids always need toys, but it seems like it is only the “kidults” keeping the industry afloat at the moment.
“Kidults” is a demographic of children over the age of twelve responsible for a quarter of toy sales yearly. They are the biggest sector of growth in the toy industry, and their spending is worth $9 billion annually.
In this modern age, adults can express their love of fandom and specific toys without judgment. Kidult’s interests are in particular areas of the toy market, such as comics and collectibles like Lego, as they are toys that were also available in their childhood. As toy companies began to realize they had a new consumer demographic, companies like Lego started to develop toys just for Kidults and adults to enjoy and regain their youth.
In the ’70s, toy manufacturers started to make toys focused on the entertainment industries, with action figures made from TV series and play sets from movies such as Star Wars. Also, they started to include other merchandise, including clothing and furniture. It is not a surprise that this generation now has an attachment to the memorabilia of that era. They were the first generation of kids to be exposed to licensed toys.
As superheroes and villains sprang into the mainstream with the help of TV programs like The Big Bang Theory, kidults came to the forefront. Toy companies really embraced their new adult consumers and developed specific superhero collectible sets for adults. Also, Hasbro and Mattel have released lines of toys to appeal directly to kidults rather than actual kids.
To increase the interest of kidults in “grown-up toys,” toy manufacturing companies have been creating television programs and films around their most popular toys, such as Barbie and Dungeons and Dragons. These films are not catering to children but to adults. Thus catering to kidult toy collectors.
But not all toys for kidults are advertised with an element of nostalgia. Outdoor athletic toys such as kick and electric scooters have also been developed for kidults to keep the fun alive and kicking.
Also, toys from newer series such as Stranger Things are a hit with the kidult generation. Toy Company, Basic fun developed a large artwork scene from Stranger Things to be hung on a wall which turned into a best seller for the company.
In the last year, kidults have represented over 60% of the growth in the toy market, but like all businesses, it struggled with inventory problems. Many stores have to guesstimate how much inventory to order and receive holiday season stock deliveries early to avoid not having any stock at all. But at the moment, it is the kidults that are spending massive amounts of money on expensive toys and collectibles, and they are the customers every toy store across the nation wants.
