It’s an unusual time, to say the least. But Americans are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders partially by retreating to a number of familiar activities, including hanging out with other household members and spending time on hobbies. The need to stay occupied and entertained at home has led to a boom in sectors like video gaming—but also lower-tech crafts, toys and games.

Anna Yudina, director of marketing initiatives at The Toy Association, pointed to zoos as an example. “Thanks to social distancing, these institutions have implemented animal webcams to take kids behind the scenes at zoos—something they would not normally have the opportunity to do.”. Even as parents fret about kids’ screen time, their own usage can be an irritant.

"For discretionary categories like toys, furniture, and electronics to achieve any type of growth amid these recessionary headwinds is an enormous feat," she said.

Toys ‘R’ Still Them. Amid all the handwringing about screen time—plus the demise of Toys "R" Us—one could easily imagine that kids have lost interest in toys. But they haven’t. “Traditional toys are still big among tweens,” Baer of Ipsos said, mentioning board games and construction sets as examples.