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The UK toy market returns to growth for the first time in five years, but it’s adults buying toys for themselves who are helping fuel the boom. The so-called kidults have helped the toy market in the UK post a year-on-year growth of six percent, according to figures by the British Toy and Hobby Association, with one in three pounds of toy sales being spent by kidults.
Retro arcade cabinets and LEGO floral bouquets are some of the toys kidults can’t get enough of. The kidult market now represents one-third of all toy spending in the UK, so it’s a sector the toy industry can’t ignore. Technically, a kidult is for the 12-year-and-over range, but it’s adults who are a major part of this growth sector.
At the Toy Fair in London’s Olympia, Kerri Atherton, head of public affairs at the British Toy and Hobby Association, says, “But what I think we’ve seen shifted a little bit is sort of how wide the audience really is now for toys. So obviously, for a few years now, we’ve been talking about the rise of kidults, which is toys for 12 plus. But adults are a big chunk of that category as well.”
“So three quarters of 18 to 34-year-olds say that they’ve purchased a toy either for themselves or another adult in the last year,” says Melissa Symonds, executive director of toys for market research company Circana. They have been closely monitoring the rise of kidults, and their love of nostalgia and their spending power is a welcome boost for the toy sector.
Another key trend is the growth of Asian-influenced toys. South Korean and Japanese brands like K-POP Demon Hunters, One Piece, and Dragon Ball Z are all contributing to the year’s collectibles boom. Collectible toys grew by 12 percent year-on-year in 2025, and Far East Asian licenses were a clear factor in this growth.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.