Collecting one’s thoughts…

Over the last five years, some of the fastest growing properties on the market have been driven by sales of collectibles. Melissa looks at what types of collectibles are driving this growth this year.

The UK toy market continues to enjoy strong value growth in 2025, with every month up on 2024 sales, leading to a total market value increase of +7% YTD September 2025. In 2024, the final quarter of the year accounted for 46% of annual value sales and 38% of volume sales; while the market can still change, at present the UK toy market is on course for its strongest year since 2020.

However, one particular type of toy is helping to drive this growth – collectibles. Circana defines collectibles as “items collected as part of a series, potentially with a poster/picture of all items to collect.” Collectibles sit across many categories within the market, from stickers to plush to action figures and playset collectibles. Overall, collectibles account for 17% of value sales YTD September, or £302m. Furthermore, the category has grown +18%, more than twice as fast as total toy growth. This means that more than one in every five toys purchased is a collectible. Over the last five years, some of the fastest growing properties on the market have come from this category. So what type of collectibles are driving growth this year?

Accounting for 34% of Collectibles value sales is Strategic Trading Cards, which is not only the largest collectible subclass, but is also the second fastest growing subclass across the total market. The strong performance of Pokémon cards throughout 2025, in addition to the more than double digit growth of Magic: The Gathering, has seen this category grow +78% in 2025 and this growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Action Figure Collectibles is the second largest collectible category, accounting for £1 in every £5 spent on Collectibles. Funko Pop! is the top property for AF Collectibles, as well as the number two collectible property across the total market. There has also been strong AF collectible growth from Minecraft, with NanoMetal Figs Minecraft from Simba the best-selling item. In addition there has been growth from anime lines like One Piece and Demon Slayer, and horror lines such as Five Nights at Freddies and Stranger Things. While collectible Plush has declined by 19% this year, it remains the third largest collectible category with Squishmallows still the number one property. There has been growth from Fuggler, which has been expanding distribution with Zuru and gaining share, as has Cookeez Makery from Moose Toys.

In Playset Dolls & Collectible, L.O.L. Surprise! is still the No. 1 property, but there has been growth in 2025 from the No. 2 property, Sylvanian Families, as well as growth from Squish-a-longs, Yummiland and Hello Kitty. Miscellaneous Toys has a number of collectible lines with Zuru’s 5 Surprise and MGA’s Miniverse the top collectible properties, as well as a number of collectible key chain ranges. Compared to the success of the men’s Euro Football Championships in 2024, Non-Strategic Trading Cards and Collectible stickers is down this year. However, World Soccer remains the third largest property for Collectibles across the total market. For Standard Building Sets Collectibles, Lego Minifigures Formula 1 Collectible Race Cars, Minifigures Series 27 and the recent release of Minifigure’s Across the SpiderVerse range have all driven growth in construction collectibles.

Despite strong performance and share growth in the first nine months of this year, it is worth noting that in 2024, Collectibles’ share of the total market dropped from 15% of value YTD September 24 to 11.5% for Q4 2024. Value growth for Collectibles continued ahead of the market for Q4, but at a slower rate than the beginning of the year, as many consumers focused on bigger ticket items for Christmas. This trend is likely to repeat this year, although given the current momentum, Collectibles should remain an outstanding area of the UK toy market for 2025 as a whole.

Collectibles continues to evolve with new lines in the last twelve months ranging from Skibidi Toilet to the Moriah Elizabeth Costume Series, demonstrating the variety of ranges available. Collectible appeal spans age and gender, with many adults as well as kids collecting their favourite range. Social media can drive a range’s popularity as demonstrated by the recent explosion of Labubu. With an average selling price of £8.54, collectible toys come at an affordable price point for many people, and with such a wide range, no matter the age of the recipient, it seems that there is a collectible for everyone.

Item Progression:

VTech’s First Steps Walker is an evergreen line for Infants and was the No.1 item within the Infant/Toddler & Preschool Toys supercategory for September, helping the Walkers subclass to grow +6% for the month. VTech Baby was the No. 2 property in total ITPS for September.

Fastest SubclassesGrowing

As seen throughout 2025, Standard Building Sets continues to be one of the fastest growing subclasses, growing +22% or an additional £60.5m versus 2024. September was a strong month for Standard Building Sets: in addition to the strong growth from Formula 1 and Lego Botanicals, Lego One Piece contributed to growth as well as Lego Wall-E.

Strategic Trading Cards has also had an outstanding 2025, with sales up +77% YTD September. Pokémon continues to contribute to this growth but in September, Magic The Gathering’s Spider-Man has also performed strongly, driving Magic to +66% growth for the month.

Action Figures is the third fastest growing subclass with Jurassic World, Marvel Universe, Transformers, WWE and Minecraft all increasing by double-digits this year. In Action Figures Collectibles, Funko Pop remains the top selling property with Minecraft, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mr Beast Lab all contributing to growth. Miscellaneous Toys growth of +14% YTD is supported by both Zuru’s 5 Surprise and MGA’s Miniverse performance. However, Fugglers and Blox Fruits have also been adding value growth to the category in the last few months. Preschool Talking and Sound growth is driven by TonieBox, with the recent release of Tonie Box 2 boosting sales.

Radio/Remote Control Ground/Sea/Other growth is driven by Lamborghini, Formula 1 and Cars the Movie growth YTD. Infant Plush is up +26%, with Ms Rachel now the top property, as well as an increase from Paddington Bear. Playground Equipment growth is driven by Trampolines, up +4% as well as growth in Playsets and Sand & Water Boxes YTD. Battling Toys & Playsets is up an impressive +63% YTD with Beyblade and Pokémon driving growth for the category.