Consumer Insight - The Insights Family explores the merging of online and offline worlds

Merging online

and offline worlds

As the UK has reopened, kids, parents and families are returning to high streets. Our Kids Insights data shows that the popularity of offline shopping has slightly increased by 8% among kids aged three to five in the UK since July 2021. In turn, online shopping dropped by 13% at the same time for the same consumers.

Among preschoolers (aged three to five) toys are a clear motivator in determining favourite shops, with Smyths Toys Superstores (8%) being almost twice as popular as their third favourite, Tesco (5%), and Primark ranking in second place. The popularity of Smyths has increased by 60% since July 2021, showing how kids and parents are more than happy to visit their favourite stores again, just as they did before the pandemic.

So what are they looking forward to finding this winter? The influence of kids’ favourite YouTubers and TV shows on their toy purchasing decisions continues to grow. In fact, 16% of children have bought - or intend to - buy products that relate to their favourite YouTuber, and 37% are buying products that relate to their favourite TV shows.

This trend goes both ways, as we can see how toys continue to explore the digital world.

For example, one of the most popular soft toys – Squishmallows - announced that its YouTube animated series will air weekly until the end of October. Our data shows that almost one-third of three to 12-yearolds report soft toys

as their favourite “toy type.

MGA Entertainment, meanwhile, released new L.O.L. Dolls along with an accompanying 45-minute animated movie L.O.L. Surprise: The Movie!, which is showing on Netflix.

Meanwhile, shopDisney has announced a special line - Hocus Pocus - celebrating the classic film and getting people excited for next year’s sequel on Disney+. It will include souvenirs such as a wallet, a longsleeve top and a chrome Hocus Pocus mug shaped like a cauldron.

What this means for you… Kids ecosystems are continuously shifting. With a variety of streaming platforms and different content featuring hundreds of new characters, these IPs rapidly come into kids’ lives on many different levels. One trend observed

The main thing during the pandemic was that kids found comfort in that can be seen the familiarity of brands, across the most characters, and IPs they can popular IP in kids’ most engage with. They feel comfortable ecosystems is choosing something related consistent to their favourite movie or TV show for example, engagement with which they probably certain characters across multiple platforms “ watched many times during the lockdowns. The main thing that can be seen across the most popular IP in kids’ ecosystems is consistent engagement with certain characters across multiple platforms, whether that’s watching the latest TV show or their favourite YouTube channel. With this in mind, The Insights Family has just released a new IP INDEX. This tool is a holistic performance monitor, which identifies the strength and opportunities for your brand. It enables you to measure your performance against competitors and also discover up-and-coming IP/brands. To learn more about IP INDEX and to get freemium access to The Insights Family real-time data portal, visit: https://get. theinsightsfamily.com/ipindex

The outlook for high street shopping looks optimistic, with toys influenced by TV, YouTube and other streaming platforms, says Nick Richardson, founder and CEO of The Insights Family

The Insights Family specialises in kids, parents, and family market intelligence. Providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns, every year the company surveys more than 383,760 kids and 187,200 parents.