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Adult toy purchases and collectible trading cards are driving higher toy sales in 2025, per a new Circana report.
Toy sales for adults were up 12% for the period between January and March, and nearly a quarter of these adult shoppers (19%) purchased Pokémon cards for themselves over the last six months, according to Circana survey data from March.
- Does that mean these adults are out there playing Pokémon cards? Not necessarily. Circana found that just a quarter of these buyers play the game. The rest are collecting them as a hobby or to resell.
The trend is fueling strong sales for the industry overall, with dollar sales increasing 6% year over year since the beginning of 2025, and unit sales increasing 3%.
“The good news is consumers are signaling that they will spend on the things they need and those that make them happy,” Juli Lennett, VP and toy industry advisor at Circana, said in a statement.
Hasbro pointed to a similar phenomenon in its most recent earnings call. Revenue at the brand’s roleplaying and collectible cards division Wizards of the Coast, which houses brands like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, rose 46%, while consumer products declined 4%.
CEO Chris Cocks also noted that “Wizards has low tariff exposure,” and most of its domestic supply comes from North Carolina and Texas.
In the import-dependent toy industry, the segment could prove a lifeline. In April, The Toy Association published survey data showing that 46% of small toy companies and 45% of medium-sized toy companies believed they would go out of business within weeks or months if the planned 145% tariffs on Chinese goods went into effect.
“The toy industry is showing its resiliency during a turbulent time, but will need to nimbly adapt to a retail landscape of polarized consumers and ongoing inflation concerns,” Lennett said.