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2025
STATE OF NOSTALGIA
The year physical media made its comeback, VHS became king, and a generation proved that in a hyper-digital world, the past is the new future.
throwbackbuys.com · January 2026
The Cultural Rewind
2025 wasn't just another year of trending retro fashion. It was a full-blown cultural rewind and a collective exhale from the relentless pace of digital life.
While Silicon Valley raced toward artificial general intelligence and the metaverse's promise of a new digital frontier officially fell-flat, millions of Americans quietly turned in the opposite direction. They dusted off record players. They hunted for VHS tapes at estate sales. They traded smartphones for flip phones.
$1.4B
Vinyl revenue vs CDs' $541M
(3rd consecutive year)
(3rd consecutive year)
148%
Surge in "brick" phone sales
among 18-24 year olds (2021-2024)
among 18-24 year olds (2021-2024)
67%
Adults buying replicas of
their childhood favorites
their childhood favorites
2007→2025
Alien: Romulus became the first
major film on VHS since 2007
major film on VHS since 2007
📊 THE DIGITAL DETOX GENERATION
Gen Z is the only demographic actively shrinking their digital footprint (PYMNTS Intelligence). The digital paradox is real: the more advanced our tech becomes, the more we seek tactile, physical reconnection with the past.
40%
Gen Alpha take deliberate
smartphone breaks
smartphone breaks
+18%
Increase since 2022
(GWI)
(GWI)
50%
Vinyl buyers cite
"digital detox"
"digital detox"
This isn't nostalgia as escapism. It's nostalgia as a correction.
ThrowbackBuys Perspective
ThrowbackBuys isn't introducing a new behavior, we're capturing one already in motion. As the only marketplace purpose-built for 80s-Y2K nostalgia, we've watched this shift in real-time. When VHS emerged as our most-searched category in 2025, it validated what the broader culture was already telling us: America is now more hungry than ever for the tangible past.
The Physical Media Comeback
Physical media didn't just survive 2025, it became a statement.
As streaming fatigue sets in and algorithms dictate what we watch, something unexpected is happening: people are reclaiming ownership. They're hunting for VHS tapes like they're rare earths. They're displaying VHS collections like art. They're buying vinyl they can't even play.
The VHS collector community has exploded, with Facebook groups now exceeding 100,000 members. Heritage Auctions has sold sealed VHS tapes for anywhere from $25,000 to $114,000. When Best Buy discontinued DVD sales, vintage disc sales on eBay jumped to the platform's third most popular category.
VINYL BY THE NUMBERS
In 2024, 40% of adults 18-24 purchased vinyl records (Vinyl Alliance). Gen Z buyers are 27% more likely than average to purchase vinyl, with 50% citing it as a form of "digital detox" (Luminate). Vinyl revenue hit $1.4 billion versus CDs' $541 million (RIAA), the third consecutive year vinyl outsold CDs.
The vinyl renaissance tells a similar story. Perhaps most telling: 50% of vinyl buyers don't even own a record player (Luminate). They're not buying audio, they're buying artifacts. Physical objects that prove something existed. Something real.
This is the digital paradox in action: the more advanced our tech becomes, the more we seek tactile, physical reconnection with the past.
ThrowbackBuys Perspective
VHS was our #1 selling product type throughout 2025. This isn't just collector behavior. It's a cultural statement. The same generation that grew up with smartphones is now deliberately choosing formats their parents abandoned.
"While the world chases the next AI trend, the culture is quietly rewinding."
Who's Driving This
The nostalgia economy spans every generation, but each cohort is seeking something different.
Millennials: The Core
They're the ones who lived it, and now they're buying it back. Researchers call it "comfort purchasing", seeking the stability and simplicity of their childhoods. The adult toy market hit $1.8 billion in Q1 2025 alone, growing 12% year-over-year (Circana). 35% of adults have bought toys/collectibles for themselves or another adult at least 1-2 times in the past year, up from 28% in 2022.
Gen Z: The Surprise Driver
This generation actively seeks out eras they never experienced, a phenomenon called "anemoia": nostalgia for a time you never knew. They're not remembering the 90s. They're discovering it. 68% of Gen Z consumers say they respond positively to nostalgic branding (Morning Consult), and they're willing to pay for it.
Gen Alpha: The Emerging Wave
A 2025 Key Production survey found that 46% of Gen Alpha children are now listening to vinyl, CDs, and cassettes, often introduced by Millennial parents. 80% of those parents prefer analog formats over smartphone listening for their kids. They're being raised on nostalgia as an antidote to screens.
THE NOSTALGIA PREMIUM
Consumers are willing to pay 10-15% more for products with nostalgic branding or design elements (Kantar). The US online resale market is projected to grow from $25 billion to $40 billion by 2029—a 13% CAGR, growing 5x faster than traditional retail (ThredUp/GlobalData, 2025).
ThrowbackBuys Perspective
Our transaction data tells a clear story: the 90s dominated 2025. Throwbacks from this decade accounted for 72% of Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with the late 90s (1995-1999) driving over half of that. Collectible Toys, Home Game Consoles, and Action Figures lead category demand, while VHS drove the highest unit volume. Meanwhile, Y2K was the fastest-growing era at 21% of GMV.
Franchises That Defined 2025
Some brands transcend generations. Based on search demand and transaction data, these five franchises led nostalgia interest in 2025:
1
Nintendo / Game Boy
The most searched and best-selling franchise on our platform. The original handheld remains the gold standard for collectors.
2
Beanie Babies
Search interest surged with notable purchase volume. "Princess Diana Bear" among our most searched individual items. The 90s plush craze is back.
3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Original 1980s and early 90s action figures and accessories drove consistent demand.
4
Nickelodeon
Rugrats, Blue's Clues, and Nick Jr. nostalgia resonated with millennials/parents introducing kids to their childhood favorites.
5
Barbie
Continued interest in vintage dolls and accessories, particularly from the 80s and 90s eras.
Nostalgia Auctions Launch
In 2025, ThrowbackBuys launched Nostalgia Auctions: limited-run drops featuring rare throwbacks that we call "Splash Pieces". These recurring auctions will occasionally feature celebrity partnerships.
🎤 CASE STUDY: JASON PAIGE AUCTION
Jason Paige, the original voice of the Pokémon theme song, consigned a rare 1999 Mewtwo card for our second auction drop, with a portion benefiting charity.
$1,100
Final Sale
64
Total Bids
100%
Authenticated
It proved that authenticated nostalgia commands serious premiums.
The success validated our thesis: nostalgia isn't just about owning old things. It's about owning moments.
Cultural Curiosities
The strangest corners of nostalgia often reveal the deepest truths about what people are really seeking.
The Mandela Effect Economy?
In November 2025, when one of our Nostalgia Sellers listed a parody replica of a Shazaam VHS, it became our top-selling item almost immediately. We don't typically allow reproductions on our marketplace, but made an exception for this one.
Shazaam is one of the internet's most notorious Mandela Effects: millions of people vividly "remember" comedian Sinbad starring in a 1990s genie movie that there are no traces of, and even Sinbad himself alleges never existed.
The fact that people will pay for a physical artifact of a false memory tells you everything about what nostalgia really is. It's not about owning old things. It's about owning feelings.
THE PRINCESS DIANA BEANIE HUNT
The Princess Diana memorial Beanie Baby remains one of the most searched collectibles in the nostalgia space. Authentic versions with specific tag errors are rumored to fetch thousands, though most sell for far less. On ThrowbackBuys, Princess Diana Bear was among our top searched throwbacks, with sales topping out at $50.
ThrowbackBuys Perspective
These curiosities reveal something important: nostalgia isn't rational, and it shouldn't be. A VHS for a movie that never existed outsold actual vintage films. A Beanie Baby worth $50 gets searched like it's worth thousands. People aren't just buying objects; they're chasing feelings, memories, and cultural moments that mattered to them. That's why we built ThrowbackBuys around curation and storytelling, not just transactions.
"Our Nostalgia Sellers aren't just flipping vintage, they're selling memories. There's a difference."
The Holiday Surge
The 2025 holiday season proved that nostalgia is the ultimate gift.
According to WARC, 77% of consumers find comfort in nostalgia during uncertain times. WGSN has declared 2025 the beginning of the "Forever Young Adult" era, a sustained cultural moment where grown-ups embrace the toys, media, and aesthetics of their youth.
NOSTALGIA AS GIFT
Streaming can't be wrapped. An algorithm can't surprise you. But a sealed copy of your favorite childhood movie? That's a gift that says "I know you." Nostalgia purchases carry emotional weight that generic gifts cannot replicate.
3x
November search activity vs.
typical monthly average
typical monthly average
~40%
December's share of
annual sales
annual sales
ThrowbackBuys Perspective
Marketplace volume surged in Q4 2025. November search activity reached 3x our typical monthly average, with December accounting for roughly 40% of our annual sales. The pattern confirms that nostalgia isn't just consumption, it's connection.
What's Next: Our 2026 Predictions
📼 1
Physical Media as Legitimate Format
VHS drove our highest unit volume in 2025. As streaming fragments and content disappears from platforms, physical media becomes the only guarantee of ownership. The "you'll own nothing" era is fueling a quiet rebellion.
🏆 2
Authenticated Collectibles as Asset Class
Graded VHS tapes and sealed collectibles are setting auction records. As authentication becomes more accessible, expect nostalgia items to increasingly be viewed as alternative investments.
🎁 3
The Rise of Nostalgic Gifting
Holiday 2025 showed that nostalgia solves a universal gifting problem: give them their childhood back. Expect a shift toward sentimental, one-of-a-kind items that say "I know you."
🎮 4
The Return of 2D Gaming
Gen Alpha is obsessed with 2D/lo-fi digital experiences both new and retro. We predict this trend will expand into the broader mainstream as another emotional counterweight to the Digital Paradox.
As our world becomes more digital, synthetic, and disposable, physical nostalgia becomes more valuable.
Even today's iPhone will eventually be a ThrowbackBuy.
Sources
- RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America (2024 Year-End Report)
- PUIRP - Pew Research Center on Brick Phone Sales (2021-2024)
- PYMNTS Intelligence - Gen Z Digital Footprint Study
- GWI - Global Web Index (Gen Alpha Screen Time, July 2025)
- Music Week / Key Production - Gen Alpha Physical Media Adoption
- LAist - VHS Collector Community Coverage
- Kiplinger - Physical Media Market Analysis
- Heritage Auctions - VHS Sale Records
- StatsSignificant - Mandela Effect Research
- Luminate - Music Consumption Trends
- Vinyl Alliance - 2025 Vinyl Buyer Survey
- Morning Consult - Gen Z Brand Perception Study
- Circana - Toy Industry Sales Data (Q1 2025)
- Kantar - Consumer Pricing Research
- WARC - Nostalgia Marketing Insights
- WGSN - 2025 Consumer Forecast (Forever Young Adult)
- Global Growth Insights - Collectibles Market Size & Forecast (Sept 2025)
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