Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals- for Themselves

Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals—for Themselves

Excerpts from The Time Nov. 17, 2022

"Toy companies like Lego, Mattel, and even Build-a-Bear are courting the booming "kidult" market"

"Visitors to the bustling Lego store in midtown Manhattan this holiday season may be surprised by what greets them upon their entrance. After waiting in a line so long that it requires a bouncer, they will find not only sections dedicated to Star Wars and Harry Potter, but also an area labeled “Adults Welcome.” Occupying about a third of the store’s floor space, it invites those who are young at heart, if not in body, to build."

"As Richard Gottlieb, CEO of the consulting agency Global Toy Experts, explains, “Toy companies began to say, ‘We’re not in the kids business. We’re in the play business. And anyone can play.’”

"This holiday season, toy companies are hoping to appear on kidults’ wish lists. Basic Fun is selling $100 Lite-Brite wall art, and Razor is introducing an adult version of its scooter that retails for $600. Lego is egging on adult builders with tweets like “Normalize adults scheduling Lego building play dates.”

"For now, the adult market continues to thrive. Gottlieb estimates that $2.4 billion worth of toys in the U.S. are sold every year to adults for their own use. A survey conducted last year by the Toy Association found that 58% of parents had bought toys and games for themselves.

Me saying : Growing together with my granddaughter through playing together, is a dream comes true.