Adults driving surge in toy sales as ‘kidult’ trend grows

Diep Nguyen shows her new Labubu doll to media during the opening of Germany's first shop for Labubu plush dolls in Berlin, Germany, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

From teddy bears and Lego bricks to trading cards and Star Wars figurines, a new trend is reshaping the toy industry: consumers over the age of 12, dubbed “kidults,” are purchasing products that celebrate their inner child through nostalgia.

The Canadian toy market grew by up to seven per cent in the first half of 2025, with kidults fuelling much of that momentum, according to Andrew Wagar, spokesperson for the Canadian Toy Association.

“Much of this growth is being fueled by consumers over the age of 12, who are consistently outspending traditional under-12 demographics when it comes to toy purchases,” Wagar, president and CEO of Swerve Strategic Marketing, said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

He says the trend largely took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people needed distractions and comfort during lockdowns. That demand, he adds, never really dropped off.

“During the pandemic is when you started to see collectibles … start to really grow in popularity,” he said in a separate video interview with CTVNews.ca. “People started going online (and) collecting. This whole nostalgia started to take off, and that’s when it really became popular.”

Karthik Rajendran, head of collectibles at eBay Canada, has witnessed the trend first-hand.

“It does have quite a varying range when you look at it from an age perspective,” Rajendran said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “But at the core, really, it’s getting people to reconnect with a time in their past or something nostalgic that they remember from their childhood.”

Rajendran says search trends on eBay point to surging demand for specific toys and franchises.

“Labubu I think is one of the biggest things in recent times,” he said. “Just on eBay itself, between the months of May and June, the Labubu searches were among the top three.”

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Pokémon and Pokémon cards came on top. Rajendran also pointed to upcoming trends.

“Bratz is a great example, obviously with the release of the Jean Paul Gaultier doll recently, but also the movie coming out with Kim Kardashian,” Rajendran said. “Pokemon is going to see a big revival next year … so that’ll be a big (one) for 2026.”

What are ‘kidults’ buying?

According to data from U.S. research firm Circana, shared by Wagar, the top toy categories among adults include:

• Trading card games
• Building sets and blocks
• Action figures and collectibles
• Entertainment-licensed products

“Lego is probably the number one company that you would look at,” Wagar said, adding Pokémon, the National Football League, Marvel, Hot Wheels, and Star Wars are also very successful in the kidult category.

“Pokemon is, without question, the number one selling trading card in Canada, possibly most likely in the world,” he said.

Toy companies are adapting to the new consumer base. Wagar says brands are moving from seasonal campaigns aimed at parents to year-round strategies targeting adult fans.

“We’re seeing new companies emerge that focus exclusively on products for this segment, while established players are introducing dedicated kidult lines or expanding evergreen franchises to capture this growing market,” he said.

‘A trip down memory lane’

Psychologists say the trend taps into deeper emotional needs.

“A lot of these things have a community around them,” said psychologist Steve Joordens in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “It gives (people) a group of people that they can talk to about something they like talking to.”

Joordens says play, often dismissed in adulthood, can help manage stress and improve well-being.

“It’s really important to be able to flush (negative hormones caused by stress) and the best way to do that is to not just escape the stress, but to spend some time doing something that makes you feel good and happy,” he said.

Dr. Chloe Carmichael, a clinical psychologist and author, says the kidult trend may also reflect shifting social dynamics.

“In the past, there were very clear markers and milestones of maturity that carried their own literal sense of status,” Carmichael said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca. “Now it’s almost a little bit of a taboo to ... market those types of milestones. What’s old and in the past may feel a little bit more comforting.”

Carmichael noted that while connecting with your past can be positive, problems arise if nostalgia becomes an escape from adult responsibilities.

“There’s a big difference between a trip down memory lane and setting up residence on memory lane,” she said. “When it becomes kind of a fixation that seems to permeate throughout their whole life ... that would be something, as a psychologist, I would at least begin to ask questions about.”