By Ryan Tuchow.
Kidscorp’s survey identifies what toys kids are still playing with, the age when they drop off, and how YouTube is transforming the experience.
Kids are playing with toys less, but instead of replacing play, platforms like YouTube and social media are transforming how kids discover what toys they want, according to research firm Kidscorp.
The company’s new Toys Brand Track report surveyed 1,175 US kids from ages three to 14 (and their parents) in June, who bought toys in the last month, and found that the percentage of kids who are playing is slipping.
In 2022, 61% of kids reported playing with toys. Fast-forward to today, and that number is at 54%, which means there’s a shrinking market for toy companies and brands.
But one of the stats that surprised the research team the most was the sharp decrease in the percentage of kids playing with toys when they hit tween status, Kidscorp’s head of marketing and PR Pablo Durañona said. Only 28% of 12 to 14s play with toys, compared with 53% of nine to 11s. And toys are still very popular with the younger set; 73% of three to fives play with toys and 67% of six to eights still do.
Screens are transforming play
Meanwhile, more kids are reporting spending time on YouTube. Most kids (86%) in 2026 are using it, up from 77% in 2024. But screens aren’t just replacing the play experience, they’re taking the role of toy store visits or traditional TV commercials as kids’ first introduction to the toys they want.
Most kids (89%) ages eight and up reported wanting a toy after seeing it on a screen, and most kids see them on YouTube (60%), followed by TV series or movies (40%) and then video games (34%). The point is that tech is transforming the play experience. Or as Durañona puts it: “Screens aren’t replacing play, they’re starting it.”
What categories should brands be in?
Brand owners and toy companies shouldn’t toss out their toy strategy and go digital-only anytime soon, but with tech competing for kids’ attention, brands should make sure they’re actually in the categories that kids want to play with.
According to Kidscorp’s research, the top categories by the percentage of kids who own and play with them are:
- Building toys & blocks (40%)
- Crayons, paints & pencils (34%)
- Toy vehicles (30%)
- Action figures (28%)
- Stuffed animals (25%)
- Toy blasters & launchers (25%)
Kids are collecting, too
When it comes to collectibles, it’s not just the buzzy kidult market; there’s a segment of young collectors out there that companies can try to reach too, Kidscorp says. Most (86%) of kids with parents who collect toys are collectors themselves, according to the research firm. And nostalgia is still a major factor to consider, since 74% of kids say they like playing with the same toys their parents played with.
This matches up with recent reports from research firms We Are Family and Beano Brain, which both recently noted the power of collectibility, and advised companies to embrace a collecting play pattern to reach today’s kids.
The full report is available in this link.