WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — With the holiday shopping season wrapping up, this year, it’s not just kids with toys on their wish lists.
“There has been way more adults shopping for themselves and their contemporaries this year,” said Kellie Kloss, owner of Clayton’s Toys in Williamsville.
Klos has owned Clayton’s Toys for the past seven years.
She says this year she’s seen an influx of sales of stuffed animals, Legos, and puzzles due to her adult customers purchasing them for themselves.
It’s a trend that’s being seen nationwide, as according to NPD Group, this year 14% of all U.S. toy consumers are over the age of 18 — a 20% increase from last year.
“I truly think it does bring you back to childhood for sure,” Klos said. “There's no mortgage when you're a child, so I think it takes a lot of the daily stresses out of adult lives.”
Those daily stresses experts say caused consumers to channel their inner kid for the last decade and especially for the past two years.
The pandemic really accelerated that trend, because we had adults at home, working from home and just spending more time at home and looking to do stuff,” said Charles Lindsey, Associate Professor at UB’s School of Management.
And it’s not just the consumer’s nostalgia reaping the benefits.
Manufacturers are running with this new trend, seeing it as an opportunity to dig the industry out of a 3% dip this year — like Build A Bear creating stuffed animals holding wine and LEGO offering more complex sets for adults.
“I think it's finding a way to alleviate the pressure or to make up for weaknesses with respect to other segments for whatever reason,” Lindsey said.
“I think sometimes people think that toys go until seven, and then they're too old, and then they have their iPads and that, but that is not the case,” Klos said. “We have something for everyone.”