Back-to-School Season in Europe and the US: Which Toy Hits Are Leading the Market?

In September, as students return to school, playground crazes and pocket-money collectibles are once again becoming a major driver of growth in the European and US toy markets. Combined with retailers stocking up at low cost to prepare for Christmas, affordable collectibles are seeing explosive growth thanks to their nature as low-priced, low-risk impulse purchases for parents and as items players want to buy repeatedly to complete a series.

Circana's August survey of the UK market shows that at least one in every five toys sold is a collectible toy. Among these, explorative toys' market share climbed from 6% to 8%. Across all price bands, products under 10 yuan grew fastest, with sales surging 23% year on year, capturing two-thirds of unit share and 30% of sales value. Blind bags, miniatures and sensory fidget products such as ZURU's Mini Brands, MGA Entertainment's Miniverse and Goliath's Clickeez mechanical keycap fidget toy are among the bestsellers.

Source: Zhongwai Toys Network. Text/Editing: Jane/Salas.

Today's children and teenagers are not only collecting toys, but also using them to show personality and socialize with peers. DIY mini figures and dolls, keychains, backpack charms and similar products that can be decorated, shown off, swapped and shared are popular in primary, middle and high schools. Several international giants have launched corresponding products.

Will Collinson, general manager of ZURU UK, said: "Self-expression through collectible toys is the current trend." To this end, ZURU launched its latest blind box series Starbox and installed dedicated demonstration boxes in retail stores to recreate the surprise of unboxing, while actively working with social media influencers online for promotion. The series is further divided into three different themes: Nook Nooks, Minnee and Sad Baby.

US company Vango launched the premium sticker series StyleStix, which children can stick on clothes, bags, sneakers and cups, perfectly matching young people's desire to show creativity on campus.

Germany's Simba Group launched Disney YuYus plush charm blind boxes with practical carabiners, making them easy to hang and remove, and the series achieved strong growth with the help of the Disney IP.

Short-video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts have become "manufacturing machines" for trends. Videos of influencer recommendations, blind box unboxings and toy swaps can make a product go viral overnight. In addition, the spread of social media has broken down age barriers, attracting many children over 8 and teenagers to join the ranks of collectible toy buyers.

Under this trend, several companies are actively positioning themselves. MGA Entertainment has achieved great success with Miniverse and its newly launched Hyojo series; the new series not only satisfies the desire to collect, but also deeply integrates mixed-material assembly, slow-rebound stress relief and social interaction. Tubbz/Rubber Road officially entered the blind box field this summer with Mystery Eggs, whose debut lineup introduced the Minions IP, containing 12 regular characters and one extremely rare Golden Gru, using the rare character to drive repeat purchases.

The popularity of stress-relief toys, squishies and fidget toys remains high on social media. According to incomplete statistics, the hashtags #squishy and #fidgets on TikTok each have millions of video posts. This year's hottest sub-theme is "food," with squishy-style buns, fried chicken pieces, toast and similar products frequently selling out at retail.

In this wave, several companies have positioned themselves precisely: One For Fun accurately predicted the explosion of sensory and food themes, and its Scrunchems Dumplings became an industry star product, selling out as soon as it hit shelves at large trend discount retailers such as Five Below and offline toy boutique chains such as Learning Express Toys. DKB launched Fluffmellies (below left), plush-textured squishies inspired by toast and muffins, while 3D Studio Gifts launched Clicklets, food-themed fidget toys with a clicking mechanical sound. Craze's Glime (below right) lets players add various creative accessories to slime, further enhancing the sensory experience.

Mini collectible figures are also very popular in this category, offering players miniature alternatives to their favorite collectible toys that can be easily stored in a bag, shown or swapped with friends anytime and anywhere, while also giving them another way to express personality among peers.

Under this trend, major brands have launched mini collectible products with distinctive features: for example, Just Play's trendy toy brand Happy Haul launched retro-style mini Good Luck Trolls vinyl plush bag charms, letting players hang 1980s-style trolls on their bags; LEGO also launched mini collectible building figures — the newly packaged LEGO Minifigures Shrek series, using the popular blind box format, letting children find their favorite Shrek characters, including Shrek, Fiona and Donkey, to play with and swap with friends.

For retailers, this category is not only a choice with low unit price and high inventory turnover during the post-pandemic and economic downturn period, but also an excellent traffic-driving tool around the Christmas season: on the one hand, these exquisite and affordable small toys, with their high cost-performance, the festive surprise of opening a blind box and their perfect portable size, become excellent Christmas "stocking stuffers" and an essential touch for the ritual of opening gifts on Christmas morning; on the other hand, after Christmas they can produce a strong "long-tail effect," as players who open large toy holiday gifts at Christmas will strongly want to use pocket money or New Year's money given by elders around New Year's Day and after returning to school to buy these small collectibles, continuously expanding and enriching the toy world they already own.