Kidults are addicted to board games, puzzles and even Lego. The phenomenon continues to grow, to the point where kidults have their own section in specialized stores and even their own Christmas catalog.
At the JouéClub in Confluence, the kidults are kings as soon as they walk through the front door. In the new version of the store, inaugurated at the beginning of November on the top floor of the shopping and leisure center located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, a large space is devoted to these adults who have kept their childish soul. “It is the brand's desire to highlight this section at the entrance to please customers. Everyone knows that JouéClub offers everything you need to please children, now we also have everything you need for adults“, explains David Agnesetti-Gillot, who has clearly identified these new customers. “They are parents, but they are also and above all children who have grown up“, specifies the store manager.
Because the particularity of kidultes, compared to children, is to have real purchasing power and to use it to buy games and toys for their own consumption. Especially since the average price of a toy is 13 euros, compared to 20 euros for an adult game. If the sector recorded a decline of 5.2% in 2023 before stabilizing in 2024, the kidult market now represents nearly 30% of total toy sales in France, becoming a real locomotive. “You no longer have to be parents to come to a toy store“, observes David Agnesetti-Gillot.
If the typical profile of the kidulte is difficult to define, many are “forty-year-olds who watched Grendizer, Captain Flam, Dragon Ball, Knights of the Zodiac. They come for example to look for figurines, accessories, and all products derived from different licenses“, analyzes the director of the JouéClub Confluence, admitting in passing that he is also a big Star Wars fan having already fallen for lightsabers.
There are also kidults who are attracted to board games. “Dad, mom, grandpa and grandma playing Monopoly, it's over! We still have this model, but we also have more subversive games that we only play between adults.“, continues the manager, citing in particular Blanc Manger Coco and Limite Limite. “Without going that far, there are also simple, easy and effective games, like Suite infernale which is going to work really well this year, or Trio, which was Ace d'Or at Cannes, a very simple game with numbers and very modern visual identities“Among the very popular games in recent years, we also find 7 Wonders, Citadelles, Les Aventuriers du Rail or Pandémie, as well as traditional escape games and other puzzles which are also on the rise.”All these products are things we can no longer do without today.“, assures David Agnesetti-Gillot, for whom “the phenomenon had been felt before the COVID period“. “It has become more widespread recently, perhaps because, indeed, people were more at home, they then took the time to see their friends again, perhaps also thought back to their childhood and went back to these places. universe that made them dream when they were little“.
The Lego brand is riding the trend, regularly expanding its adult range which is distinguished by its black packaging. The offer is diversified according to interests such as travel, cinema, art. Some products can cost up to 300 euros, including a representation of Gotham City, from the Batman universe, or the owl Hedwig, icon of the Harry Potter saga.
Other worlds attract kidults in particular, that of manga or retro-gaming which could be the star of Christmas, while many forty-somethings don't hesitate to bring out their old Game Boy. “We are finding more and more old game consoles. At the end of the year, Atari is releasing a console with 120 games inside. We're going to find small arcade machines to play at home on your own for not very expensive“, indicates the man who is at the head of a store whose sales area is estimated at 1100 m².
With an average basket of 60 to 80 euros during the Christmas period, JouéClub is banking on this time of year to appeal to both children and adults. “At Christmas, there are more and more young couples who want to give each other a gift, a wife who will come to offer a Lego Star Wars to her husband, or conversely, the husband who will offer a bouquet of Lego roses for his wife“, underlines David Agnesetti-Gillot, before concluding: “Christmas is more and more for young and old“.
FL
