Leslie Edelman has run Tiny Doll House, a miniature figurine shop in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood, for 35 years. Eighteen months ago, new clientele started routinely coming to the store, he says.
In addition to Edelman’s regulars — parents, grandparents and collectors — groups of 20-somethings now flock to the store on Saturday afternoons. They giggle among themselves, text furiously and buy tiny Labubu keychains, Pez dispensers and mock Eames chairs. Some tell Edelman, “I’ve seen you on TikTok,” he says.
“There’s a hell of a lot of picture-taking,” says Edelman, a 75-year-old lifelong New Yorker.
Business owners like Edelman say they’ve noticed a shift in consumer behavior: Gen Zers increasingly seeking out and spending money on old-school hobbies and habits in an effort to get more offline. For small businesses that sell tactile, nostalgic products and services — like rotary phones, needlepoint kits or embroidery services — average shopper age is down and revenue is up, from extant and new customers alike, some owners say.
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