- Gen Z and millennials continue to buy plushies or stuffed animals in a boost to the toy market.
- A Mintel analyst said plushies are “hot right now”.
- Adults spent more than $1.5 billion on toys for themselves in the fourth quarter of 2024, Circana found.
Gen Z and millennials’ love of plushies is bringing some joy to the toy industry.
Young people adore their stuffed animals, whether they’re hanging on to old knock-offs from their childhood, buying a 5-foot viral goose on the TikTok store, or spending a premium to add to their collections. Squishmallows.
A recent Jellycat display at the Selfridges store in London was packed with customers buying obscure $25 or more versions of cod and chips, mimicking a British fish and chip shop, The Economist reported. In Asia, a hairy, spiny-toothed rabbit creature called Labubu has a hold on humans into their 30s.
This comes amid struggles for the toy sector.
A report from market research company Circana found that toy sales across the G12 countries fell by 1% in the first half of 2024. This was an improvement over the 8% decline in 2023 that Circana estimated for purchases made by adults. ” for themselves.
The report found that people ages 18 and older accounted for more than $1.5 billion worth of sales in the final three months of 2024, putting them ahead of purchases made for toddlers ages 3 to 5 as the most popular age group. important of the industry.
Juli Lennett, Circana’s vice president and toy industry counsel, said in a statement that “while the toy industry is feeling the heat, it is ripe with opportunity.”
Squishmallows on sale in a London store in 2022. James Manning for PA Images
Mintel’s traditional toys and games report, published in October 2024, found that soft toys were particularly in demand. The report found that sales of stuffed toys are on the rise, and just over a third of all toys and games purchased in the US last year were building sets and plush toys.
Brian Benway, the senior technology and gaming analyst who worked on the report, told Business Insider that plushies are “hot right now.”
He said plushies “are following right along with Lego and the types of toys and games that are built. Lego, of course, is a big brand in the toy and game industry, so to see plushies up there with Lego is very positive for them.”
The spark of nostalgia
Melissa Symonds, chief executive of UK toys at Circana, told BBC News that adults buy toys for “the positive mental health benefits, as they evoke nostalgia and provide an escape from global turmoil”.
A more cynical view is that some millennials and Gen Zers are slow to grow up, in part because they faced delays in reaching major life milestones such as finding a job, moving out of their parents’ homes, and buying a house. For them, collecting plushies is simply a coping mechanism.
Carter Kench, a content creator and avid Squishmallows collector, told the Washington Post in 2023 that he owned more than 400 of the stuffed animals made by Jazwares. The company was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2022.
Kench said the experience of hunting for a specific teddy was “something special — I feel like Indiana Jones every time I’m on the hunt.”
Data from Mintel showed that 52% of all people who bought games last year were adults buying for themselves.
‘A Little Happiness’
“It’s becoming more accepted,” Benway said, with communities on social media being more open to sharing their interests.
“So many people are using it that, well, I don’t care if other people think it’s stupid, it brings me some happiness, some joy, so I’m going to keep doing it. .”
Benway added: “Lady Gaga posted a photo of her bed completely covered in Squishmallows on Instagram. So if Lady Gaga can do it, anyone can.”
A report from Grand View Research found that the global soft toys and plush toys market is expected to grow by 8.2% annually until 2030. Sales of cartoon toys that cater to fans are expected to grow even more, with an annual increase of 9.8%.
