QuestMobile's 2026 Insight Report on the "Childlike Heart Economy": The scale of interested users over 18 years old has exceeded 26 million, and trends of concentrated outbreaks, multi-dimensional popularity, and mass revelry have emerged.

Hello, folks! Before the holiday, I shared with you a brand - new research area: After the arrival of the AI era, there have been significant changes in the acceptance logic and source preferences of AI platforms, which in turn have led to the reconstruction of information distribution weights. We can see that the problems of "information silos" and "information chimneys" of websites and APPs, which have been difficult to solve in the Internet era, have been completely solved by AI native APPs through the "triple substitution" of core function takeover, information entrance reconstruction, and service scenario integration. Therefore, with the continuous rectification and standardization of relevant departments, the "trusted data assets" in the AI search path are not only the premise for "brands to be recommended" but also the basis for "brands to be mentioned". They will inevitably become the "core asset composition" for shaping and developing brands in the AI era, which is worthy of research by the entire industry.

As Mr. QM has repeatedly stated before, just as when the mobile Internet era arrived, QuestMobile has always faced up to the latest industry changes and led the direction of industrial research. Naturally, the AI era is no exception. This field is worthy of all of us to face up to and move forward together! Let's continue our weekly in - depth interpretation 😎. Today, I'll share with you the latest insight report on the "Childlike Economy". QuestMobile data shows that as "emotional consumption" is continuously released by the integrated online - offline consumption scenarios and social communication, the "Childlike Economy", which is composed of symbols, experiences, and emotions, presents trends such as concentrated explosion, multi - dimensional popularity, and mass carnival.

Since the beginning of 2025, the concentrated explosion of the Childlike Economy has been very obvious. From Labubu's continuous popularity to the opening of ChinaJoy and the holding of the PTS Trend Toy Exhibition, the interaction volume of relevant content in this field has exceeded 100 million times many times, with the highest approaching 150 million times. At the same time, this explosion is more clearly reflected in the market scale. In 2025, the market scale of this field reached 234.99 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 27.4%. It is estimated that the market scale will reach 284.34 billion yuan in 2026, doubling compared with 136.20 billion yuan in 2022.

The concentrated explosion has also extended the segmented tracks in this field, and the trend of multi - dimensional popularity is very obvious. From January to April 2026, in the content interaction volume of the entire field, trendy toys accounted for 52.4%, far ahead. However, manual experiences, building blocks, puzzles, and cards are also growing continuously, accounting for 27.9%, 9.2%, 4.0%, and 2.2% respectively. Among the segmented categories of trendy toys, in addition to traditional blind boxes (65.3%) and figurines (11.4%), the interaction volume of assembly models, food toys/small ornaments, and humanoid dolls also accounted for 1.9%, 1.7%, and 0.7% respectively.

Subsequently, there has been a breakthrough in circles and popularization. In this regard, the user base has already been formed. In April 2026, the attention of users over 18 years old across the network to the content related to "childlike innocence" reached 29.8%, and the scale of users interested in relevant content has reached 26.141 million. In terms of user needs, emotional companionship, collection preferences, stress release, nostalgia, and the fun of hands - on activities accounted for 41.6%, 23.8%, 15.0%, 14.3%, and 3.1% respectively.

From the perspective of the attention of users over 18 years old, the manual experience has become the category with the fastest growth rate, accounting for 19.2%, a year - on - year increase of 12.1%, exceeding the 16.1% of trendy toys... How to do it specifically? You may as well read the report.

Summary of the 2026 "Childlike Economy" Insight Report

Market Overview: The Resonance of Emotional Value and Social Communication, the "Childlike Economy" Enters the Expansion Period

1. Definition and Typical Categories of the "Childlike Economy"

2. The Resonance of Nodal Events and Adults' "Celebrating Children's Day" Consumption Continuously Boosts the Popularity of the "Childlike Economy"

On the one hand, nodal events such as the launch of new Labubu products and exhibition activities continuously generate social discussions. On the other hand, adults actively participate in Children's Day consumption, transforming "celebrating Children's Day" into self - reward, nostalgic expression, and festival social scenarios, jointly promoting the "Childlike Economy" to maintain high popularity.

3. The Core of Adults' "Childlike" Consumption is not the Material Itself, but the Deep - seated Satisfaction of Emotional Comfort, Mental Relaxation, and Self - realization

4. From the Perspective of Category Popularity, Trendy Toys are Still the Core Entrance, but "Childlike" Consumption has Extended from a Single Track to More Categories such as Interaction and Companionship

5. Among them, the strong - interaction manual experience track represented by bean mosaic has particularly prominent growth, indicating that consumers are starting to move from "buying toys" to "participatory play", and their needs are advancing

6. Adults' "Childlike" Consumption is no Longer Just a Periodic Hot Spot, but has Formed a Stable Mass Consumption Foundation

QuestMobile data shows that in April 2026, nearly 30% of users over 18 years old were concerned about content related to "childlike innocence", and the number of heavy - interest users exceeded 26 million.

7. The Release of Demand and the Innovation of Products, IPs, and Scenarios Form a Closed - loop, Promoting the "Childlike Economy" to Enter the Scale Realization Period

Insight into the Interest Groups of "Childlike" Categories: Generally, They are Mainly Young People with Medium - to - High Consumption Power, and Different Categories Attract Different Groups

1. The Interest Groups of "Childlike" are Mainly Young People Born in the 1990s and 2000s, with Prominent Medium - to - High Consumption Ability

2. The Interest Groups of "Childlike" not Only Prefer Anime and Trendy Culture, but are also Active in Lifestyle Scenarios such as Food, Sports, and Fashion

From the perspective of interest structure, "childlike innocence" is no longer just an opportunity point in the toy and anime tracks, but is also becoming an important marketing entrance for industries such as catering, clothing, and sports to reach young users and amplify emotional value.

3. From the Perspective of IP Preferences, Classic Anime IPs are the Best at Undertaking Childhood Nostalgia and are also the Content Entrance with the Highest Attention from the "Childlike" Group

Whether domestic or non - domestic, most of the top - ranked IPs have high recognition, long life cycles, and clear childhood memory anchor points, indicating that the "childlike" group is not just chasing the popularity of new IPs, but is more likely to be activated by classic content that can continuously arouse a sense of familiarity and emotional connection.

4. From the Perspective of Category Preferences, Users' Needs are Extending from "Purchase and Collection" to "Hands - on Participation" and "Instant Stress Relief", and "Childlike" Consumption is Upgrading in the Direction of Stronger Interaction and Stronger Experience

5. At the same time, Different Types of "Childlike" Products are also Attracting Different Groups. Trendy Toys are More Popular among the Young, Hands - on and Educational Products are More Favored by Mature Users, and Nostalgic Foods are Concerned in the Lower - tier Markets

Different types correspond to different "childlike" needs: Trendy toys mainly undertake the trendy expression and social sharing of young people. Hands - on and educational products are more in line with the needs of mature users for hands - on participation, focused stress relief, and companionship value. Nostalgic foods are more dependent on the ability of lower - tier markets to undertake familiar tastes and daily consumption scenarios.

6. There are also Obvious Differences in the Consumption Ability and Interest Preferences of Different Category Groups

Trendy toy users are more inclined to anime, short - videos, and games; Hands - on and educational users are more inclined to sports, food, and other participatory interests; Nostalgic food users have higher consumption ability and there are opportunities for health upgrades; Emotional comfort users are more inclined to light entertainment content to meet the need for instant stress relief.

Insight into the Brand Marketing of the "Childlike Economy": "Childlike Innocence" has been Upgraded from a Creative Embellishment to a Tool for Brands to Leverage Emotional Resonance, Social Diffusion, and Consumption Conversion

Whether it is cross - border brands leveraging "childlike" elements for marketing or core category brands deeply cultivating "childlike IPs", in essence, they are all transforming emotional value into brand communication power, user connection power, and consumption conversion power

1. Cross - border Brands' Leveraging - type "Childlike" Marketing: IP, Childlike Appearance, and Scenario Co - creation Work Together to Make Products into Disseminated