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Gen Z and millennials keep buying plushies, or stuffed animals in a boost for the toy market.
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A Mintel analyst said plushies are "kind of hot right now."
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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 cheer to the toy industry.
Young adults adore their stuffed animals, whether they're hanging onto the battered old ones from their childhood, buying a viral 5ft goose on TikTok shop, or spending a premium to add to their collections of Squishmallows.
A recent Jellycat pop-up in the London department store Selfridges was filled with patrons buying fuzzy $25 or more versions of cod and fries, mimicking a British fish and chip shop, The Economist reported. In Asia, a furry, spikey-toothed rabbit creature called Labubu has a hold over people well into their 30s.
This comes amid struggles for the toy sector.
A report by the market research company Circana found that toy sales across the G12 nations declined by 1% in the first half of 2024. That was an improvement on the 8% decrease in 2023, which Circana credited to purchases being made by adults — for themselves.
The report found that people aged 18 and over accounted for sales worth more than $1.5 billion in the last three months of 2024, putting them ahead of purchases made for toddlers aged 3 to 5 as the industry's most important age group.
Juli Lennett, Circana's vice president and toy industry advisor, said in a statement that "while the toy industry is feeling the heat, it is ripe with opportunity."
Mintel's Traditional Toys and Games report, published in October 2024, found that plushies were particularly in demand. The report found that stuffed toy sales have been growing, and just over a third of all toys and games purchased in the US in the past year were building sets and plush toys.
Brian Benway, the senior tech and gaming analyst who worked on the report, told Business Insider plushies are "kind of hot right now."
He said plushies are "tracking right along with Lego and building-set type of toys and games. Lego, of course, is a huge brand in the toys and games industry, so to see plushies up there with Lego is very positive for them."
Spark nostaglia
Melissa Symonds, executive director of UK toys at Circana, told BBC News that adults buy toys for the "positive mental health benefits, as they spark nostalgia and bring escapism from global turmoil."
A more cynical outlook is that some millennials and Gen Zers are slow to grow up, partly because they faced delays in reaching pivotal life moments such as getting a job, moving out of their parents' homes, and buying a house. For them, plushie collecting is merely a coping mechanism.