What the Kidult Economy Means for Modern Retail

With the adult demand doing the heavy lifting, the global toy market - valued at $114.4 billion in 2024, is projected to soar to $203.1 billion by 2034. In fact, for the first time ever, toy demand by preschoolers was surpassed by demand from consumers over the age of 18, according to Circana.

Turns out, the next big thing in retail isn’t just high-tech or high fashion. It’s high-play.

But kidulting isn’t about escaping adulthood. And it definitely isn't just about toys. It’s a cross-category wave, bleeding into fashion, beauty, collectibles, and even immersive in-store experiences.

Dive in as we decode the stats, unpack this wild wiring, and tell you about the brands that are turning childhood memories into serious market momentum.

Nostalgia is Serious Business: Stats & Signals from the Kidult Economy

Adult Lego builders. Barbie shelves stacked high. Limited-edition drops designed to delight millennials. While the idea of kidults seems familiar, the speed, scale, and staying power of this trend has entered a whole new phase.

According to 2024 research by Circana, adults are now the fastest-growing age group in the toy market, making up 28.5% of total sales and generating around $9 billion in revenue. While they make up only a quarter of the buyer base, kidults drive 60% of the industry’s dollar growth. At a time when toy sales volume has softened overall, it’s these adult buyers and their taste for high-priced collectibles—who are keeping the market afloat.

Why the surge? Because adulthood is exhausting.

Between doomscrolling, burnout, rising rents, and the monotony of beige adulthood, it’s no surprise millennials and Gen Z are turning to toys not to escape, but to self-soothe.

Cultural theorist Agustina Panzoni coined the term "Kidulting" to describe this generational pivot—away from elusive milestones like homeownership or financial security, toward smaller wins and emotional comforts like capsule toys, anime hoodies, and Squishmallows as decor.

The presence of kidults in the market is not new, but their spending has accelerated since the pandemic. And this isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. In India, fandom-fueled demand is growing across anime merch and gacha vending machines. In the UK, collectibles make up 23% of total toy sales, with average price tags under £7.

So, what’s powering this grown-up playground?

Nostalgia: Adulthood is being reimagined by a generation that treats nostalgia not as a fleeting indulgence, but as a way of life. Many are reconnecting with brands they loved as children. 59% of Gen Z and Millennials now identify as kidults, and 63% among them say that nostalgia is their core motivator (Mischievous Wolf). It’s not about looking back; it’s about reclaiming joy.

Escapism x wellness: Beyond sentimentality, toys like plush collectibles and building kits, have become tools for mindfulness and me-time. According to Deloitte’s 2024 consumer survey, 38% of adults aged 25–40 bought toys specifically to reduce anxiety or disconnect from digital overload.

Display culture & social capital: Toy shelves aren’t childish today; they’re cool and aspirational. From Bearbrick x Chanel to Funko Pop walls on TikTok, collectibles have become social prestige. Influencers, celebrities and even fashion brands have helped turn fandom into a lifestyle (cc: a statement!).

Besides this, there is also an investment value attached as collectable toys become viable assets that fetch high sums in resale markets.

The Pop-Culture effect: Toys tied to movies like Barbie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are booming. In the first half of 2024 alone, licensed film-related toys made up 32% of all toy sales (Circana, 2024)

Adulting 2.0? Quite possibly. More than just a cute or quirky escape, the kidult economy is only getting bigger, more playful, and a whole lot more profitable from here.

The Joy Economy's Effect on Retail

If the 2010s were about decluttering with Marie Kondo and embracing minimalism, the 2020s are about reclaiming joy. Loudly, unapologetically, and yes expensively!

As Melissa Simons, Director at Circana UK, puts it: “Tapping into the 'joy economy,' toys offer emotional comfort to the consumer.”

But beyond the warm fuzzy feelings, there’s a serious retail strategy taking shape.

• More SKUs, More Revenue: Kidults aren’t casual one-and-done buyers; they're collectors at heart and it has become a serious hobby. This means a single customer can generate multiple transactions - spanning seasonal releases, collabs, and merch. Emotional bundling drives repeat purchases, loyalty loops, and even resale demand.
• From shelves to stories: Experiential retail is already having a moment. Adding nostalgia to the mix only sweetens the deal with toys acting as sensory anchors in an increasingly digital retail world.
• IP Merch is a World to Play In: With Pop-Culture’s roaring effect on Retail, licensed merchandise offers endless extensions to the business. It’s why we spot Stranger Things notebooks at Miniso, Star Wars x Levi's collabs at malls or Pokémon x Uniqlo tees flying off shelves.

(Want to catch up on the IP effect? We covered it back in Edition 06 )

• Higher margins, lower churn: Adult-focused toys with exclusive packaging, numbered editions, even artist collaborations, often carry premium pricing, better margins, and a more loyal audience.
• Cross-Category spillover: Kidult sensibilities are reshaping more than toy aisles. Take Nostalgia-core fashion (13DE Marzo x Care Bears x Victor) home goods turned fandom shrines (Funko Pop shelves as wall art), and even beauty lines with collectible packaging (Etude House's cartoon collabs).

While many brands are leaning in, offering dopamine in doses of plush, plastic, and pixelated IP, there are still a few blind spots:

• Marketing to the Parent, Not the Purchaser: Still focusing marketing budgets solely on “pester power” over grown-up fandoms? You’re ignoring the bigger spending demographic.
• Missed moments of play: Adults want more than static shelf fillers. Brands failing to create immersive retail, online, or fandom experiences are missing the magic (cc: margins)
• Pricing fear: Some brands hesitate to go premium, fearing sticker shock. Big miss, because the data says otherwise. Adults will pay for nostalgia; especially if it’s rare, numbered, or wrapped in good storytelling.

As the lines blur between comfort, culture, and commerce, it’s clear: brands that build worlds, not just products, and continue to evolve by embracing technology, sustainability, and personalisation, are the ones that’ll win the kidult game.

If you were to watch Kidults in Action, this is where the action is

What started with plushies and building sets has blown up into something much bigger and way more stylish. We’re talking designer toys like Bearbrick and KAWS, Hello Kitty making high-fashion cameos with Crocs and Levi's, Jellycat’s charms & keychains clipped onto your tote, beauty launches that feel like they walked straight out of your childhood cartoon lineup, and retail spaces? Designed like candy-colored theme parks—with none of it made for kids, but for thirty-somethings with disposable income, strong aesthetic opinions, and deep pop-cultural roots.

Here are the top retail brands that are going big on grown-up play.

Let’s start with the icon that never really left— LEGO. The perennial favorite that has gone from childhood pastime to adult obsession. Their Adults Welcome campaign strategically positioned adult play and became the brand’s core growth strategy.

Continuing to delight its huge fan base, the brand has been able to attract new customers through innovation, with the likes of its Botanicals, Star Wars & Architecture Sets, that accounts for a significant chunk of their global revenue and have led to a 14% YoY growth in 18+ customer base.

Build-A-Bear is a brand getting a distinctly grown-up glow-up. With its cheeky After Dark collection, complete with satin pajama-clad bears, wine-glass accessories, and sultry Valentine’s specials—the brand is positioning plush as personal, playful, and intimate. Because why should soft toys be limited to lullabies?

Funko, best known for its Pop, has transformed the humble figurine into a lifestyle statement. Their vinyl army spans every fandom imaginable—from Hogwarts to Wakanda and beyond—their convention-exclusive drops and limited collabs have turned collecting into a full-time passion project for thousands of adults.

Then there’s POP MART, the Chinese brand turning blind boxes (the thrill of the unknown products) into a gold potential and scaling it with speed. Drawing from Japan’s deep anime and character IP tradition, Pop Mart identified a growing appetite for design-led, emotionally resonant collectables; and moved fast to meet it with surprise, scarcity, and storytelling with its Labubu collection. Scroll further for all things Labubu!

With adult collectors (particularly in the 18–35 demographic) accounting for over 70% of their revenue in 2023, they’ve proved that a well-designed toy can be a status symbol.

Beauty brands are jumping in too. Take Joocyee's kidult collection, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty's Disney collab, Kaja Beauty Bento Blush stacks, Rick & Morty x Sheglam – where packaging looks cute enough for a middle-school locker, and smart enough for a grown-up glam routine. Their playful dopamine packaging—compact, cute, irresistibly Instagrammable—is proof that joy can live in a blush pan.

Back in Japan, Bandai Namco has created adult fandom around anime and tamagotchi. From life-sized Gundam statues to entire floors of experiential zones in its London flagship store, the brand is a master at making fandom feel immersive, exciting, and completely un-ironic. You don’t just shop; you step into your inner child’s dream arcade.

In Southeast Asia, Toys"R"Us has done a surprising pivot. With falling birth rates and fewer young kids to cater to, the brand has leaned into the kidult trend hard—curating exclusive ranges of LEGO, Bandai, and niche plush collectibles for the 18–35 year-olds. The result? A 30% jump in adult footfall across stores in Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Proof that it’s never too late for a comeback!

Even the iconic EPOCH's Sylvanian Families is having an unexpected, quietly growing adult fanbase. Once the stars of toy store windows, these miniature woodland creatures now have an underground cult following among grown-ups building elaborate dioramas and trading rare vintage sets. The opportunity? Limited-edition releases, high-design collabs, and re-releases that hit right in the nostalgia nerve.

And ofcourse, it’d be a remiss to not mention minimalists like Muji and fast-retail darling Miniso – who are functional, yes, but also wildly fun.From miniatures, squish toys to soft stationery, their aisles are now filled with micro-joys tailored to the aesthetically inclined millennial.

All this points to one thing: grown-up play is no longer a guilty pleasure—it’s a retail movement. Whether it’s a plush bear sipping merlot, a $250 Gundam model, or a sparkly lip balm shaped like a Powerpuff Girl, joy is now a category all on its own.

What the Labubu!

Labubu was created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung as one of several characters in his Nordic-inspired series The Monsters, released in 2015. A collaboration with POP MART led to the first Labubu collection in 2019, but it wasn’t until 2024 that the monster really took off.

Much of its popularity can be attributed to Lisa from K-pop band Blackpink, who frequently shared the figurines on her Instagram stories and referred to the doll as “my baby” in a recent interview with Teen Vogue.

With more than 1.4 million videos made about them on TikTok, the Labubu dolls reached a new peak in popularity in 2025, as search interest for the plush dolls surged exponentially on Google, and celebrities have begun to adopt the Labubu as an accessory. Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Post Malone and Blackpink’s Lisa are among the names who have recently shown their love for the toys publicly.

“Labubu has become more than just a collectible; it’s a bold statement of individual style,” Emily Brough, Pop Mart’s head of IP licensing, the Americas, told WWD. The global collectibles company has launched more than 300 styles of Labubu since 2019, including an extensive list of collaborations and the Labubucharms, which are now being clipped onto luxury bags and styled into custom couture, as seen during Paris Fashion Week in March.

“Labubu’s presence in the fashion space — from NYFW to appearances on luxury bags — reflects a broader cultural resonance,” Brough said, adding that Labubu, like other characters from Pop Mart, including Skullpanda and Peach Riot, are well-positioned to bridge collectibles and fashion. “We’re already seeing organic traction in this space through celebrity and stylist interest,” she said.

Videos online show queues wrapping around stores selling Labubus before dawn in cities from Paris to Los Angeles, with adult fans camping outside just for a chance to unbox a rare toy from its blind package.

Decoding Retail: Your Insider Glossary

'Dopamine Design'

Dopamine design or dopamine decor, is essentially the emotional UX of the retail shelf. The design concept revolves around sparking instant joy, through the use of bright colors, tactile textures, nostalgic references that psychologically trigger and light up the brain’s pleasure centers (like a well-timed notification).

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