Gen Z and Millennials continue to buy stuffed animals and stuffed animals to fuel the toy market. Mintel analysts said stuffed animals are “kind of popular right now.” Adults spent more than $1.5 billion on personal toys in the fourth quarter of 2024. Discovered circana.
Gen Z and Millennials’ love of stuffed animals is reinvigorating the toy industry.
Young adults love stuffed animals, whether they’ve been clinging to a beat-up old stuffed animal since childhood, buying a viral 5-foot goose from their TikTok shop, or spending a premium to add it to their squishmallow collection. I am.
A recent Jellycat pop-up in London’s Selfridges department store was packed with patrons buying vague versions of cod and fries that imitated British fish and chip shops and cost upwards of $25, it said. The Economist reported. In Asia, furry, spiny-toothed rabbit creatures called labubs continue to captivate people well into their 30s.
This comes at a time when the toy industry is struggling.
Toy sales across the G12 countries fell by 1% in the first half of 2024, according to a report by market research firm Circana. This is an improvement from the 8% decline in 2023, which Circana blames on purchases by adults. themselves.
According to the report, sales by people 18 and older reached more than $1.5 billion in the last three months of 2024, surpassing purchases by young children aged 3 to 5, the industry’s most important age group. It turned out that.
“The toy industry is feeling the heat, but the opportunity is ripe,” Juli Rennett, vice president and toy industry advisor at Circana, said in a statement.
Squishmallows will be available in London stores in 2022. James Manning of PA Images
Mintel’s Traditional Toys and Games report published in October 2024 found that stuffed animals were particularly in demand. Sales of stuffed animals are on the rise, with construction sets and stuffed animals accounting for just over a third of all toys and games purchased in the U.S. over the past year, according to the report.
Brian Benway, a senior technology and gaming analyst who worked on the report, told Business Insider that plush toys are “kind of a hot topic right now.”
He said stuffed animals are “along with Lego and construction set-type toys and games.” Of course, Lego is a huge brand in the toy and gaming industry, so it’s a huge positive for them to see stuffed animals appear alongside Lego. ”
Spark Nostaria
Melissa Symonds, executive director of UK toys at Circana, told BBC News that adults turn to toys for their “positive mental health benefits, as they evoke nostalgia and provide escapism from global turmoil.” He said he was buying it.
A more cynical view is that some Millennials and Gen Z are growing up slower. Part of the reason is that they are delayed in reaching pivotal moments in their lives, such as getting a job, leaving their parents’ home, and buying a home. For them, collecting stuffed animals is just a coping mechanism.
Content creator and avid Squishmallows collector Carter Kench told The Washington Post in 2023 that he owns more than 400 round stuffed toys made by Jazzware. The company was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2022.
Kench said the experience of searching for a particular stuffed animal was “something special. I always feel like Indiana Jones when I’m looking.”
According to Mintel data, 52% of people who bought games last year were adults who bought them for themselves.
“A little happiness”
Benway said communities on social media are becoming more open to sharing their interests and “it’s becoming more accepted.”
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“A lot of people take the approach that I don’t care if other people think this is ridiculous, this brings me a little happiness, a little joy, so I’m going to keep doing it.” . ”
Benway added, “Lady Gaga posted a photo on Instagram of a bed completely covered in squishmallows. So if Lady Gaga can do it, anyone can.”
The global market for stuffed and stuffed animals is expected to grow 8.2% annually through 2030, according to a report by Grand View Research. Sales of comic book toys for the fan base are expected to increase further, increasing by 9.8% annually.
