Licensing International has released the results of its 2025 Global Industry Study, conducted by Brandar Consulting. The 100-page report examines the licensing industry’s state and key trends across multiple sectors.
Evergreen properties, franchises with lasting consumer appeal, now account for 77% of entertainment licensing revenue. With fewer new entertainment IP releases in early 2025, licensing activity shifted toward music, celebrity, fashion, and corporate brands. Examples include, but are not limited to, The Beatles, fast food, and Keith Haring. Pokémon, Barbie, Marvel, Hot Wheels, and Star Wars remained top performers, while LEGO Botanicals was named the year’s fastest-growing property.
Licensed toy sales rose 8% worldwide, representing 34% of the total toy market. The overall licensing industry grew 3.7% to $369.6 billion in sales, while licensee margins increased for the second year in a row. The licensing industry outperformed the growth rate of the top 250 retailers in the world.
Consumer spending patterns reflected frugality, with declines in theme park spending, growth in location-based experiences, and increased purchasing of private label brands from retailers such as Walmart, Target, Tesco, Aldi, Costco, and Amazon. 60% of consumers believe private label brands are on par with national brands. Consumers also gravitated toward used product purchases and leaned toward discount and online retailers. 61% of consumers in the second half of the year changed retailers or brands to get a lower price for their purchase.
Online shopping continued to dominate, especially among younger consumers. Mobile accounted for 54.5% of online holiday sales last year, up from 43%, with strong performance in personal care, groceries, and apparel. Social commerce is particularly strong with Generation Z (54% likely to buy via social media) compared to Baby Boomers (13%). Globally, shoppers rely on social media for product discovery and purchasing, while 57% of U.S. retailers use it to drive in-store sales. In addition to shopping online, Gen Z and Generation Alpha say they prefer pop-ups and experiences to traditional stores.
Retail trends drew from popular entertainment in 2024, including anime and sports. Anime streaming options expanded on platforms such as Hulu, Crunchyroll, Netflix, HiDive, and Amazon Prime Video. Sports viewership was boosted by the WNBA — driven by the popularity of Caitlin Clark — the Paris Olympics, the Copa America, and the Euro Soccer Tournament. Athlete-driven fandom is increasingly replacing franchise loyalty.
Read the report and learn more about Licensing International at licensinginternational.org.
