The UK Toy Market is Back and Building Momentum!
For the first time in five years, the UK toy industry isn’t just stabilising… it’s properly growing again! Fresh figures revealed this week at Toy Fair London by the British Toy & Hobby Association and Circana confirm that 2025 marked a long-awaited turning point, with the market surging 6% year-on-year to a hefty £3.9 billion. And here’s the big headline: this wasn’t a Christmas blip or a one-off spike. Toy sales were up every single month of 2025 compared to 2024. After years of uncertainty, that kind of consistency feels huge.
Bricks, Battles, and Box-Fresh Hype
If you want proof that play is thriving, look at the categories doing the heavy lifting and, frankly, the exact stuff we live and breathe at Nerdly. Building Sets exploded by 25%, fuelled by the unstoppable dominance of LEGO and crossover appeal like Formula One – the same shelf-filling, display-worthy builds that blur the line between toy and collectable. Action Figures weren’t far behind, up 16%, driven by blockbuster tie-ins and lines clearly designed with collectors in mind, while Games & Puzzles jumped 15%, with trading card games continuing their cardboard conquest of kitchen tables, binders, grading slabs, and YouTube unboxings. This is play as fandom, as display culture, and as something you proudly show off, not shove in a toy box.
Kidults, Kids, and Everyone in Between
Yes, “kidults” are still absolutely a thing, with toys bought by over-12s climbing another 10%. But crucially, traditional children’s toys grew too, up 4% and still accounting for 67% of total spend. Translation? This isn’t adults replacing kids in the toy aisle; it’s families playing together. That idea of cross-generational play runs through everything here. From LEGO Botanicals flower sets to Toniebox audio players and the ever-squishy reign of Squishmallows, the biggest hits of 2025 weren’t just toys – they were shared experiences.
Licensing Levels Up
Licensing remains the industry’s secret weapon, now making up 38% of all toy sales after a year stuffed with cultural juggernauts. Film-related toys alone account for 16% of the entire market, boosted by cinematic heavy-hitters and evergreen franchises. Meanwhile, video-game toys went full turbo mode, surging 47% thanks to Fortnite, Minecraft, and Sonic, while racing-based toys rocketed an eye-watering 193%, mirroring motorsport’s mainstream boom. TV and streaming continued to chip in too, with global obsessions like Stranger Things helping keep toy shelves relevant far beyond Saturday morning cartoons.
Collectables Still Rule
No surprises here: collectables are still red-hot, and this is where the Venn diagram between the wider toy industry and what Nerdly covers daily becomes a perfect circle. The sector grew 12% in 2025, driven by affordable, serialised lines and fandom-fuelled buying habits that reward completion, condition, and community buzz. Brands spanning anime, pop culture, and classic nostalgia all played their part, with Pokémon standing tall as the UK’s top-gaining toy property, largely thanks to the unstoppable pull of its trading cards. Whether it’s ripping packs, chasing variants, debating grading, or spotlighting the crossover between toys, trading cards, and pop culture obsession, this boom reflects a collector-first mindset that shows no signs of slowing.
Even with the average toy price rising to £12.37, consumers showed they’re happy to invest, particularly in the £30–£50 range – opting for toys that feel meaningful, immersive, and worth the spend.
My Take
This isn’t just a recovery. It’s a reset. Toys in the UK are no longer just about age brackets or impulse buys. They’re about fandom, nostalgia, shared play, and cultural moments that span films, games, sport, and streaming. The message from 2025 is loud and clear: play is evolving, but it’s very much alive. After half a decade of headwinds, the toy industry has rediscovered its spark – and heading into 2026, it feels like we’re standing at the start of something genuinely exciting. And guess what? Nerdly will be here to cover it all!
