Fidget Spinners Craze Almost Over, No Longer Cool?

Interest in finding the coolest new fidget spinners appears to be fading, which could mean the end is near for the toy that became popular just a few months ago.

Fidget spinners are continuing to sweep the nation as kids and even adults play with the addictive toy to keep themselves busy. The simplicity of the spinner, a small device you hold in the middle and spin the three blades surrounding it, seems to give it a mass appeal unlike many other traditional toys. Yet, according to the latest trends on Google, there aren’t as many interested customers as there used to be.

Google Trends has shown the decline of fidget spinners from those searching for them at their peak on May 6 to their huge drop by mid-June, as reported by Forbes. Searches for fidget spinners have dropped 61 percent since early May, which isn’t good for long-term interest in the product. While one could argue that almost everyone who was interested in fidget spinners already has one and therefore would not need to search for more, it could show that there isn’t a strong desire to collect multiple spinners, like with other products aimed at teens.

Some stores are already starting to feel the effects of waning interest in fidget spinners, like Five Below. KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Bradley Thomas wrote to Five Below and other clients on Tuesday about sales “decelerating” over the past few weeks, according to CNBC.

“While fidget spinners are still contributing to sales at FIVE, our channel checks indicate sales have been decelerating in recent weeks, potentially at a pace not expected by the market,” Thomas wrote. Five Below is one of the most popular youth-friendly stores selling fidget spinners, due to their discount prices.

Luckily, no company owns the patent on the fidget spinner, so there isn’t a huge financial threat with the toy’s inventor, Catherine Hettinger, allowing her patent to expire in 2005. As Forbes explained, the lack of a patent is how the toys have been seen everywhere and sold by a variety of companies, with different colors and varieties available.

Meanwhile, the fidget spinner craze has even reached the First Family. President Donald Trump’s 11-year-old son, Barron, was recently seen playing with a red fidget spinner as he exited Air Force One with his parents, which prompted many comments both positive and negative on social media.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]