Spinning gadgets weave a spell

As soon as they hit the shops they’re gone, snapped up by both kids and adults keen to get the latest go-to toy.

Fidget Spinners are this generation’s stressball. They come as a spinner – three bearings around a central bearing, all of which spin as a circle – or a cube with different buttons and wheels on each side.

The spinners are aimed at kids, the cubes at adults. They’re intended to ease anxiety and improve concentration, and are quiet enough for children to get away with using them in the classroom (despite a mildly annoying clicking noise, in the case of the cube).

But it’s not just the anxious or distracted buying in: the odd objects have become Generation Z’s latest craze, in the same vein as chatter rings, knuckle bones, hula hoops and Tamagotchis.

Peter Bunn, owner of arts, crafts and all sorts store Pete’s Emporium in Porirua, has sold about 1000 spinners at about $10 each since getting them in stock a few weeks ago.

Demand is so high, he says, ‘‘we could have sold 10,000’’.

The store now has a waiting list of hundreds of kids and adults, waiting for new stock that comes in each Friday, and sells out by Saturday.

‘‘As soon as we get them in, they’re gone ... The kids are finding them really hard to get hold of. I don’t fully understand it, but every kid seems to need to have one.’’

Overseas suppliers were struggling to keep up with demand. ‘‘Now that they’re ordering them, they’re ordering five or six. You get one kid in a class that has one and everyone else just has to have to have one.’’

The fidget cubes were less popular – they’re still in stock, at least – but Bunn expected they would stay in vogue longer than the spinners as they were a bit more complex.

Bunn likens the sudden craze to loom bands, tiny, coloured rubber bands to weave into jewellery and art, which began trending in New Zealand around 2014.

‘‘I think the difference with the loom bands is they made something out of them, so they’d buy more and more and more, coz they were making bracelets and things like that, whereas with these fidget spinners, the kids have got one – that’s it.’’

The Warehouse would start selling the toys next month, said the company’s head of general merchandise, Jenny Epke.

‘‘The fidget spinner and fidget cube are the latest craze across the world at the moment.

‘‘They were originally developed as a tool to help maintain concentration, as studies have shown fidgeting or doodling is a good way for both adults and kids to concentrate for longer periods of time.

‘‘However, it would seem that this benefit is not really the main attraction here – people just love playing with them – young and old.

‘‘Toys is a category dominated by the ‘‘next cool thing’’ and it would seem very likely that these products are the ‘it toys’ this winter,’’ she said.

Young Christchurch entrepreneur George Gunasekara launched his online store, Wiggle Cube, just a week ago, and he’s already finding his products selling out.

In a matter of days, the 23-yearold has sold about 150 spinners and between 50 and 70 cubes, through his site and on Trade Me.

While nearly all of his customers are children, aged between eight and 15, ‘‘it’s kicking off to older people’’, he said.

‘‘Even my friends, they’re like ‘I wanna get one of these.’ They just can’t stop playing with it.

‘‘It’s quite fun, and it’s just something to do – these days, we’re all on our phones, we’re always wanting to do something, whether it’s looking on Facebook or looking on Instagram or social media or doing our emails, so I guess it’s a good chance to sit down and do something with our hands, but you’re not staring at a screen. It’s quite a cool concept.’’

Gunasekara likens the fidget toy fad to Beyblades, the spin top childhood toy of younger millennials.

‘‘That was the thing growing up when I was around this age [of his customers], so it’s quite interesting, the demographic.

‘‘The spinners are known to help kids that have difficulty concentrating, focusing. It brings their attention to the spinner, which obviously spins in a circular motion, and it’s quite a cool little desktop toy to have. It’s really taken off – it’s obviously a phase, but kids are loving these little things.’’ –Fairfax NZ