Adults are propping up the toy industry

成年人正在支撑着玩具行业

In praise of lifelong joy

颂扬终身的快乐

TWO SUITED men cheer the cars racing around a table-top track at the Nuremberg toy fair. Close by, a woman holds a vinyl figurine of Will Byers from “Stranger Things”, a TV show. The world’s biggest toy expo celebrated its 75th birthday last month. Its target market is ageing, too.

在纽伦堡玩具展上，两位西装革履的男士为在桌面轨道上飞驰的赛车欢呼。不远处，一位女士拿着电视剧《怪奇物语》中威尔·拜尔斯的乙烯基小雕像。这个世界上最大的玩具博览会上个月庆祝了它的75岁生日。其目标市场也在老龄化。

Toy sales grew by 7% worldwide last year thanks to rising spending by so-called kidults, according to Frédérique Tutt of Circana, a data firm. Grown-ups have long collected model trains and various curios. But never have they spent so much on them. A decade ago just 9% of expenditure on toys in Europe’s five biggest markets came from over-18s. By last year that share had more than doubled.

数据公司Circana的弗雷德里克·塔特表示，得益于所谓“童心成年人”消费支出的增加，去年全球玩具销售额增长了7%。成年人长期以来一直有收集模型火车和各种新奇物件的习惯，但他们在这些东西上的花费从未如此之高。十年前，在欧洲五大市场的玩具支出中，18岁以上人群的消费占比仅为9%。而到去年，这一比例已经翻了一倍多。

Toymakers are thrilled. Grown-ups, particularly childless ones, have more disposable income than kids and are apparently happy to splurge on themselves (take the $1,000 price-tag on the Star Wars Lego Death Star). And whereas most toys for children are bought ahead of Christmas, many adults indulge across the year.

玩具制造商们欣喜若狂。成年人，尤其是没有孩子的成年人，比孩子们拥有更多的可支配收入，而且显然很乐意把钱花在自己身上（比如售价1000美元的乐高《星球大战》死星）。而且，大多数儿童玩具是在圣诞节前购买的，而许多成年人则全年都在尽情购买。

With birth rates plummeting, hooking grown-ups will become only more important. That requires not just new products, but new approaches to marketing. Special editions are boosting demand, as in the case of Mattel’s Hot Wheels collaboration with Gucci and Formula One, some items from which are available only to paid-up members of a special fan club. Toymakers are also gamifying shopping by limiting where, how or how many items are sold. Pop Mart, maker of the wildly popular Labubu dolls, uses “blind boxes” that turn each purchase into a low-stakes gamble.

随着出生率急剧下降，吸引成年人（购买玩具）将变得愈发重要。这不仅需要新产品，还需要新的营销策略。特别版产品正在刺激需求，比如美泰公司的风火轮与古驰以及一级方程式赛车的合作款，其中一些商品仅向特殊粉丝俱乐部的付费会员开放。玩具制造商还通过限制销售地点、销售方式或销售数量，让购物游戏化。泡泡玛特——广受欢迎的拉布布娃娃的制造商，就采用了“盲盒”的方式，将每一次购买都变成一场低风险的赌博。

Some pundits put the rise of adult play down to a wider infantilisation of society. Today’s young adults live at home longer than earlier cohorts. They achieve financial independence and find a life partner later. And they indulge in less sex, drugs and drinking than their parents. In a world of crisis and dwindling opportunity, perhaps nostalgia offers them comfort.

一些专家认为，成年人玩乐现象的兴起源于社会更广泛的 infantilization（幼稚化）。如今的年轻人比前几代人在家居住的时间更长。他们实现经济独立和找到人生伴侣的时间也更晚。而且，他们在性、毒品和饮酒方面的放纵程度比自己的父母要低。在一个危机四伏、机会日益减少的世界里，或许怀旧能给他们带来慰藉。

Yet there is little evidence that today’s young adults are hiding from the world by playing cars in their childhood bedrooms. And every age group is buying, not just under-35s. Escapism—some call it entertainment—is only one motivation for the spike in demand for kidult toys.

然而，几乎没有证据表明如今的年轻人会躲在童年时的卧室里玩玩具车来逃避世界。而且每个年龄段的人都在购买，不仅仅是35岁以下的人。逃避现实——有些人称之为娱乐——只是“童心未泯”玩具需求激增的原因之一。