Circana Insight

Growing up fast

With Circana data revealing the high percentages of toys purchased by, or for, the over 12 age range, Emilie looks at some of the opportunities presented by the Kidult sector.

UK Toy Market sales were relatively flat, down -1% in YTD April 2023 vs. 22, and while this performance is stronger than many expected, everyone is looking at opportunities in a challenging market. Potentially, one of the reasons behind the modest decline is the ageing UK population; there were 312,000 less 0-11 years old kids living in the UK in 2022 versus 2019, and while kids aged 0-11 years old remain the main recipients for toys sales, more than a quarter of the UK Toy Market value sales were bought for recipients aged 12+ years old. This demographic is what we call “Kidults,” and it represents a growing opportunity for the toy industry.

The term Kidults includes anyone aged 12 or more who receives toys or games as a gift or buys them for themselves. They could be fans of pop culture, movie or manga; they could be a casual or core (board)gamer or a collector; they may have developed a love for puzzles or building sets, or simply rediscovered the pleasure of playing games with family during the pandemic. There are many different types of Kidults, and this means the toy industry can provide a range of different options for this market. It also provides an opportunity for properties, suppliers and retailers to explore new types of products to fill the gap from fewer children being born.

But what is the size of this opportunity? According to our latest report - Demystifying the Kidult Toy Market in Europe - the Kidult market was worth €4.6b in 2022 across the EU5 (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain), which is 28% of total Toys value sales. While toy sales to children have declined by €200m since 2019, Kidult sales have increased by €1b across EU5, with double digit growth in all EU5 countries and contributing 66% of the EU5 toy growth in the last four years.

The Kidult segment still has lots of potential for growth, in terms of both penetration and spend. Given that not all adults are currently purchasing toys, this provides an opportunity to encourage more adults into the category. In addition, the average spend per head for Kidults is €15 per year for EU5, which is almost 20 times less what is spent on kids 0-11 years old annually. In the UK, the spend is already closer to €20 and if this were to increase to €22 per year, it would represent an extra €137m a year for the UK.

In terms of gender, male recipients over-index vs. female, but both are growing strongly and some of the best-selling toys so far this year have been actively targeting Kidult women with specifically marketed ranges such as The Lego Botanical Range, which performed especially well during the lead up to Mother’s Day.

While all Toys categories saw a proportion of sales purchased by, or for, Kidults, the largest category was Games & Puzzles, which accounted for more than a quarter of Kidult sales.

Brands and licences that appeal to both Kids and Kidult are maximizing their sales potential by targeting a larger customer base. Some of the biggest toy properties in the UK have a strong Kidult following, with Star Wars, Marvel Universe, DC Universe and Harry Potter all over-indexing on 12+ Years recipients.

Other properties also benefit from a wide age range appeal. While plush sales usually over-index on Kids, in the US, over 50% of sales of Squishmallows were generated by Kidults in 2022, thanks to the power of social media and influencers. As the brand is now partnering with licences, this has further widened its appeal to both young and older fans of top selling properties, who may not have bought a plush otherwise.

At the other end of the spectrum, traditionally “older” licences such as Spider-Man, are now targeting a younger, pre-school audience with new dedicated content, which may create even longer-term fans. Spidey and His Amazing Friends reached the top 20 licences in total toys in 2022 and was the No.4 gaining licence in EU5, with sales incremental to Spider-Man. Star Wars may replicate this success following the new Young Jedi Adventures content, which launched in May this year.

So, can we get more toys into more Kidult’s hands this year and continue to build up the fandom of future Kidults audience? If you need more insight, our Kidult report is available now to help you unlock and develop the Kidult potential for your brands and licences.

Item Progression

MGA Miniverse launched in March in the UK, and sales have multiplied tenfold between March and April 2023. It was the item which gained the most ranking within the top 150 bestselling products this month, jumping from No.1511 rank in March to No.119 in April as distribution expanded. It also contributes to Collectibles Toys - already growing +15% YTD April 2023 vs. 22 and accounting for 18% of UK Toy market. Other collectibles that continue to perform well are Zuru’s 5 Surprise Mini Brands, Pokémon Trading Cards and Lego Minifigures.

Fastest Growing Licences

The fastest growing licence is Star Wars, gaining +£3.5m sales compared to YTD April 2022. This growth was mainly driven by Building Sets, but new Action Figures and Plush items have also been incremental, targeting Star Wars fans young and old. May the 4th activities and promotions continue to boost the licence’s performance.

Several of the top gaining licences have also been driven by Building Sets: Minecraft, The Fast and the Furious, Toy Story/Lightyear, Pokémon and Aston Martin. Action Figures was key to boosting Toy Story/Lightyear and Pokémon sales too.

Gabby’s Dollhouse and Bluey both continue to expand, adding more licensees and entering more toy segments to offer a larger variety of items, whilst developing their core ranges of Pre-school Toys and Plush.

Trading Cards and Stickers are behind the growth of Football licences. With an average selling price below £5, these are key to driving impulse and collectibles and have a broad appeal to both Kids and Kidults. It should be a strong year for Trading Cards, with the new Pokémon series already driving growth and the highly anticipated Disney Lorcana launching later this year.

Finally, we should not forget the impact of movie releases on the Toy market. In the top 15 gaining licences, four are movie related: The Fast & The Furious, Super Mario Brothers, Avatar The Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy, which together generated more than £3.2m YTD April 2023, which is 10% of the total licence gain.