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Business Insider

Gen Z and millennials’ love of soft toys is bringing some cheer to the toy industry.
Young adults adore their stuffed animals, whether they are hanging onto the battered old ones from their childhood, buying a viral 5ft (150cm) 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 US$25 – or more – versions of fish and chips, mimicking a British takeaway shop, The Economist newspaper reported. In Asia, a furry, spiky-toothed rabbit creature called Labubu has a hold over people well into their thirties.
This comes amid struggles for the toy sector.

A report by the market research company Circana found that toy sales across the G12 nations – including Australia, Germany, the UK and the United States – declined by one per cent in the first half of 2024. That was an improvement on the eight per cent decrease in 2023, which Circana credited to purchases made by adults for themselves.
The report found that people aged 18 and over accounted for sales worth more than US$1.5 billion in the last three months of 2024, putting them ahead of purchases made for toddlers aged three to five as the industry’s most important age group.
Juli Lennett, Circana’s vice-president and toy industry adviser, said that “while the toy industry is feeling the heat, it is ripe with opportunity”.
A traditional toys and games report, published in October 2024, by market research firm Mintel found that soft toys 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, said soft toys are “kind of hot right now”.

He said soft toys 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 soft toys up there with Lego is very positive for them”.
Melissa Symonds, executive director of UK toys at Circana, said 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, collecting soft toys is merely a coping mechanism.
Carter Kench, a content creator and avid Squishmallows collector, told The Washington Post in 2023 that he owned more than 400 of the round stuffed animals made by Jazwares. The company was bought by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2022.
Kench said the experience of searching for a specific plushie was “something special – I feel like Indiana Jones every time I’m on the hunt”.












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Data from Mintel showed that 52 per cent of all people buying games last year were adults buying for themselves.
“It’s becoming more acceptable,” Benway said, with communities on social media being more open about sharing their interests.
“A lot of people are taking the approach that, well, I don’t care if other people think this is dumb, this brings me a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy, so I’m going to keep doing it.”
Benway added: “Lady Gaga posted a picture of her bed just absolutely covered in Squishmallows on Instagram. So if Lady Gaga can do that, anybody can.”
A report by business consulting firm Grand View Research found the global market for stuffed animals and soft toys is expected to grow 8.2 per cent annually until 2030. Sales of cartoon toys catering to fandoms are predicted to rise even more, with a 9.8 per cent annual increase.


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The soft toy industry’s most important consumers are not toddlers, but millennials and members of Generation Z. Experts examine why


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Jellycat and Squishmallows purchases by millennials, Gen Z are boosting soft toy market

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The soft toy industry’s most important consumers are not toddlers, but millennials and members of Generation Z. Experts examine why

The soft toy industry’s most important consumers are not toddlers, but millennials and members of Generation Z. Experts examine why