2024 Faire Forecast: Offline activities

This post is part of the Faire Forecast: our predictions for the buying trends that will shape 2024.

With TikTok taking over, and the launch of Threads and Lemon8, people are online and sharing more than ever. (In a recent Deloitte survey, 40% of respondents said they interact more with people through their devices than in the physical world!)

That being said, some are beginning to discover that when it comes to social media, more is not always better. In fact, all this connectivity can cause overstimulation and sensory overload. That’s why we’re predicting that 2024 is going to be all about trying to find balance: using technology as needed, then unplugging and enjoying tech-free activities.

Entertainment that promotes togetherness and cuts down on screen time for kids should prove popular this year. Instead of being saved for a rainy day, board games, jigsaw puzzles, and DIY crafts will make their way into people’s everyday lives. Dungeon and Dragons, crafts, and offline games are already surging, offering an escape from the digital world.

The number of products sold in the Games and Puzzles category on Faire increased by about 30% between 2022 and 2023.

At Chicago retailer Kido, founder Keewa Nurullah is noticing a surge in STEM kits, games, and puzzles: ones that parents and kids can do together. “Parents are looking for ways to engage with their kids and distract them from the internet,” she says.

These types of games and tools are a way to not only nurture kids’ interests offline but also, as she puts it, “get back to basics.” And parents are enjoying it too: She notes that a lot of these games are new takes on ones they played as kids. The nostalgia factor gets everyone engaged and excited.

This trend is already starting to take off in the Faire marketplace. The number of products sold in the Games and Puzzles category increased by about 30% between 2022 and 2023. More recently, five of the top 10 products in the Paper and Novelty category in August and September 2023 were DIY craft kits. A year prior, that number was zero.

Nurullah says that people are looking for ways to decompress outside of their normal (device-heavy) lives—and games for adults and kids can play a huge role in disconnecting. While in the past, families might have waited to gather around a board game or a puzzle, “this year,” she says, “parents are feeling like that’s more essential than optional.”