The toy business is booming thanks to adults. What’s driving them back to the things they loved as children?
It’s 10:00 am on a Monday and Camden High Street is busier than usual. Among the normal tourists, there’s a queue of people eagerly awaiting the opening of the newest Pop Mart store.
Pop Mart is a Chinese toy store known for selling collectible toys and figurines, being most well known for its ‘Labubu’ character. Although there are a couple of children waiting, the queue is predominantly made up of adults, particularly younger women.
A few days later, I visited Harrods for its new ‘first-of-its-kind’ Jellycat boutique. Jellycats or ‘jellies’ are high quality stuffed toys ranging from your typical animals to stuffed croissants, stationery and cricket balls.
Harrods’ newest shop, ‘Jellycat Airlines’ is decked out like an airport with toys lining the check-in desk and security scanners. It’s so popular, I was asked to go downstairs to queue for a free ticket before I could enter the shop.
Again, the customers are predominantly adults, some with baskets full of toys and others with the Harrods exclusive Jellycat, Cheryl Cherry Cake, that retails for £44.95.
Brands like Pop Mart and Jellycat are experiencing an increase in adult consumers. In fact, Pop Mart’s target group is 15-30 year old women and most visits to Jellycat’s website are from users aged 18-34.
Other brands, like Lego are also seeing an increase in adult customers and beginning to adapt their marketing to suit this. In 2020, Lego began explicitly marketing to adults with the addition of sets like buildable plants, animals and works of art. Toy industry research group Circana found that one in five toys and games are now bought by over-18s for themselves.
It’s not just Jellycats and Labubus that are taking the world by storm. Other brands like Sonny Angels, a collectible figurine based on a cherub angel, and Funko Pop! vinyl figures are being collected by adults. Even classic toys, such as Hot Wheels and Barbie, are making comebacks.
For many adults, they don’t have just one, they have entire collections. Most customers at the new Pop Mart Camden store were seasoned collectors, those who came with the sole purpose of buying another for their collection.
“I collect mostly Labubus and Skullpandas”, one shopper, Isidora, 32, tells me. “I think I have six Skullpandas, roughly 14 Labubus, as well as the one I just bought,” she says, pointing to the large figurine in her bag.
“I’ve spent more than £280 on Labubus. I think this year I’ve spent around £1,000 on my collectibles.”
After visiting the Jellycat Harrods shop, I spoke to some adults with large collections of Jellycats. Daisy*, 23, tells me she has “probably upwards of 20 to 30 [Jellycats]”, while Jack, 22, says he has “roughly 46”.
It’s not like Labubus and Jellycats are cheap and affordable either. On the official Jellycat website, they can range from £15 to £275, with the average price being around £30. Labubu blind boxes typically cost between £15 and £40 at retail but can be more expensive on the resale market.
“I’ve spent more than £280 on Labubus. This big one is £80 so I think this year I’ve spent around £1,000 on my collectibles,” Isidora tells me.
After noticing a significant increase in adults buying children’s toys, sociologists and marketers coined the term ‘kidult’. A ‘kidult’ is a term used to describe someone over the age of 12 buying toys and games for themselves, though most are typically aged over 18. Recent research suggest that adults buying kids’ toys for themselves account for between 30 and 40% of the entire toy market.
While the phenomenon ‘kidult’ became known in mainstream culture in the 2020s, it’s not a new behaviour. It first began in the 1950s when the TV industry used it to describe adult viewers who enjoyed kids programmes.
It can include “collecting figurines and cards, dressing up and cosplaying – anything that feels like a reversion to feel-good child behaviours”. A study conducted by OnePoll found that 59% of people are self-proclaimed ‘kidults’. In the UK, adults purchasing toys for themselves now accounts for £634 million of the toy market.
One of the driving factors for this increase is social media. A scroll on TikTok shows people ‘vlogging’ their time at a Jellycat experience store or their extensive collections of Labubus. Social media platforms elevate toy collecting, with unboxing videos or using toys as bag accessories. They also become trends, which makes them more desirable for the average social media user.
Labubus became popular globally after Blackpink singer Lisa posted pictures of her holding them and attaching them to her bag. Brands have also taken advantage of the trends, with Jellycat posting animations of their plushies and Pop Mart posting reviews and blind openings.
The exclusivity or rarity of the item makes it more appealing and makes people feel like they must have it. Platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Reddit have enabled this toy collecting even further. Members of these forums share their collections, engage with like-minded people and buy or sell toys.4
When there is only a limited amount of certain collectibles, it creates a sense of urgency for collectors and the items are snapped up quickly. The “thrill of the hunt” and the satisfaction of finally getting the one you want is a big motivation.
“I’ll buy the whole set of the series I like,” one Pop Mart customer told me. They estimated they had spent “more than £2,000” on their whole collection.
Labubus often come in ‘blind boxes’ so buyers don’t know which toy they’re receiving. This often makes them buy as many as they can to complete their set. Pop Mart generally restocks them every Thursday, with some random drops in between, and fans are often left disappointed as they sell out almost immediately.
Nostalgia is another factor that is making adults the biggest consumers of toys. Particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, adults felt the desire to revisit their youth and reminisce on a simpler time. A poll of 2,000 Gen Zers and millennials found that 67% would try to buy a replica of something from their childhood and 76% feel nostalgia from it.
There has been a big increase of this in the last ten years as many retailers have brought back nostalgic items, appealing directly to their now adult audience. Toys like Furby, Tamagotchis and Polly Pockets have made a comeback and the release of the Barbie movie in 2023 was actively targeted towards an older audience.
“They remind me of my childhood. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve liked things like Stitch,” Isidora tells me. “So, these plushies embody all the things I like. They’re a bit menacing but they’re also nostalgic.”
Nostalgia is an emotional experience, linking to consumers identities and memories. Having an emotional attachment to items, like a Jellycat, increases the likelihood of purchase and people tend to be loyal to certain brands.
Many ‘kidults’ or adult collectors also cite having their own money as being a reason for buying toys. Now they’re grown up and have their own jobs, they can buy toys they were denied as a child.
“I remember when I got to university on my own for the first time,” Daisy tells me. “I was like ‘I have adult money’. I bought myself one [a Jellycat] for my birthday and from there it spiralled.”
With ongoing conflicts, political tensions and what seems like bad news everyday, many adults have turned to toys as a coping mechanism. Melissa Symonds from Circana told the BBC their research suggests adults are buying toys and collectibles for their “positive mental health benefits as they spark nostalgia and bring escapism from global turmoil.”
In particular, ‘Squishmallows’ have been a top brand for this. Half stuffed animal, half pillow, 65% of Squishmallows’ consumers are aged 18-24.
Although Jellycat’s popularity has been growing in the last decade, it skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Gen Z in particular turned to them for comfort during a time filled with uncertainty.
Model railway maker Hornby also reported an increase in sales in their trains and Scalextric sets during lockdown. Labubus started to become popular in China post-pandemic as a form of escapism.
Despite the growing amount of adults purchasing toys, there is still the notion that collecting is “childish” or embarrassing. “You do feel somewhat silly for purchasing them,” Jack tells me. “But I feel like with the popularity on TikTok it has become more normalised.”
A poll by YouGov showed 71% of Brits believe stuffed animals are just for children. “I feel like there is a stigma but it depends on the person,” Isidora tells me. “Now that I’m a bit older I don’t care, they make me happy. It’s what I want to do.”
Adult toy collecting is continuing to grow, with brands adapting to accommodate a new demographic. Whether the motivation is nostalgia, comfort, community, or a love of collecting, ‘kidults’ are a thriving part of consumer culture. From the Pop Mart queues on Camden High Street to Harrods’ ‘Jellycat Airlines’ it’s clear toys are no longer just for children.
* Name has been changed at the interviewee’s request
Featured image by Emilia Birch.