At Penguin Random House, direct communication and relationships with readers are key to marketplace success, and strong consumer marketing and outreach begin with understanding our audience. Penguin Random House Consumer Insights is excited to present Moments Fall 2025, a report that anticipates consumer sentiment and behaviors we may see during the coming quarter.
Let’s look ahead at fall 2025: consumers are looking at the power of ritual, economic uncertainty is giving rise to “recession core,” and kindness rules.
Moments Fall 2025 explores a few key themes:
- Ritual Renaissance: In these times, people are looking to rituals for structure, escape, and control. Some are finding rituals through spirituality and religion. Others get involved in fandoms, sports, or online communities to find ways to outwardly express identity and commune around media they love.
- Recession Core:As threats of an economic recession loom, “hardship influencers” are on the rise. Doomsday prepping is shedding its fringe reputation, with more opting to stockpile basics. Others are reclaiming self-sufficiency as “modern homesteaders.” Shoppers are skipping the splurge and looking for cost-effective dupes and ways to monetize hobbies. A nihilistic “live for today” outlook is gaining popularity. Nostalgia as escapism has resurfaced some millennial-core trends from the 2010s.
- Cool to Be Kind: To many, kindness feels like a necessary countercultural movement in this moment. Not only does it benefit others, but many are improving their own wellness through acts of societal kindness. Kindness among children also seems to be trending downward, so modeling kind behavior for them feels more essential than ever.
And now for a look at how key genres may resonate with consumers in fall 2025.
1.Thrills and Chills
Breaking Records: In 2024, fifty-five horror movies were released in Canada and the United States, the highest count recorded since 2000. Horror movies accounted for about 10 percent of the total 2024 box office.
Día de los Muertos: Searches for Día de los Muertos begin to rise significantly in September, peaking between late October and early November. People often look for details about the holiday’s rituals and symbols.
Prime Scary Season: With the breakaway success of Sinners, horror genre-blending is having a moment.
2.Getting Cozy and Crafty
Emotional Support Crafts: Mindful, hands-on hobbies can help people slow down, reset, and recharge. Emotional support crafts are portable and designed to provide relaxing, repetitive motion that’s proven to reduce stress (think ritual!). This can be anything from amigurumi crochet to diamond dotting and more. Among Michael’s customers, 97 percent say creative projects improve their mental health. Searches for portable crafts are up 269 percent.
Elevated Cozy “Châteaucore”: The humble cottagecore is succeeded by the glamorous “châteaucore.” After all, your home is your castle. According to Etsy, the two ”cores” are related: “France cottage decor is one of the top-searched terms on Etsy this year, up over 26,000 percent,” the marketplace reports.
3.Children’s Books
Reading for Fun: A greater share of book-buying families are reading for fun daily in 2025 compared to 2023, boding well for the future of reading. Avid-reader parents in PRH’s proprietary Reader Lounge panel prioritize nurturing their children’s reading skills and the habit of reading: 91 percent of Reader Lounge parents of K-12 students feel it is important that their children are proficient readers. Many respondents also indicated that they want to foster a love of reading in their children, in part by providing consistent access to books.
A Nostalgic Gift for Adults: In a great signal for holiday book gifting—hot off the press from PRH Sales Analysis—Mother’s Day children’s book sales were up 3 percent over last year, and sales in PRH’s children’s divisions paced above the industry and hit an all-time high—showing continued demand for children’s books as gifts for adults, too.