To monitor what’s happening in the ever-changing toy market, Circana collects point-of-sale information from all major toy retailers. This information, combined with our analysts’ industry perspectives, delivers a comprehensive view of what’s selling and where. We also field over 12m consumer surveys annually to help industry leaders understand why consumers shop where they shop and why they buy what they buy. For more information visit www.circana.com.
Insight
Shiny and new This month, Emilie looks ahead to toy sales in 2024, and at the effect that new launches can have on the overall toy market.
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t the London and Nuremberg toy fairs, it has been exciting to see all the new launches for this year. While the total UK toy market was in decline -5% for 2023, new launches can help both manufacturers and retailers to attract consumer spend in 2024. Five of the top ten bestselling items based on value sales last year were new, and new items have been a contributing factor of growth for the top gaining subclasses. But what makes a new launch successful? Targeting the right consumers is, of course key. Kidults (recipients ages 12 years or older) has been a growing trend in the UK and across Europe. Spend on toys for Kidults was up +6% in value in 12 months to September 2023 in the UK, accounting for 29% of the market sales. The UK toy market over-indexed on Kidults - spend in the UK grew twice as fast as in EU5, and this demographic will surely continue to be a growth opportunity for new launches in 2024. Building Sets and Games and Puzzles are the two largest supercategories for Kidults. Both Card Games and Adults Games increased +1% in value sales in 2023 vs. 2022. Standard Building sets was the eighth gaining subclass this year, adding an additional £1.5m to the UK market, with gain coming mostly from licences such as Star Wars, but also the Lego Icons range.
informed about a toy to purchase for Christmas. The largest response was in-store visit, with 26% consumers saying this was a key factor in their decision-making process. This percentage jumped to 43% for consumers with kids aged 2-11 years in the household. TV ads and browsing online came in just behind, at 25% and 24% respectively. Finally, setting up the right price for a new launch is important. The cost-of-living crisis has reduced consumer discretionary spend and inflation - while not growing as fast as last year - is still impacting consumers budgets. Overall, the average selling price for toys in 2023 was £10.79, up +2% versus 2022. The £10-£19.99 price point is the most popular in the UK, representing 33% of annual sales, and also one of the slowest declining price categories last year. The Under £10 price point accounts for 27% of value sales but is actually the largest in volume, accounting for 63% of unit sales. The top selling item in the UK last year was Squishmallows 8” Plush Assortment, which has an average selling price under £10.
Emilie Erktan
Senior account manager, Toys UK, Circana affordability is a key part of their success, as well as frequent new series that target both Kids and Kidults.
In addition to completely new launches, existing licences and brands can partner together to bring newness to already successful properties. This is an especially prevalent trend as there are lots of anniversaries to celebrate this year. Licences continued to gain share within the UK toy market, accounting for 32% of total sales. Seven of the top ten best-selling While marketing, social and media investment are licences showed growth in 2023, and the top 10 gaining important to build new product awareness and raise its licences added +£51m to the total market compared profile, store presence is of course also key. New launches to the prior year. Among others, it will be Peppa Pig’s which can quickly build their distribution are often the 20-year anniversary and Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary, most successful. In Q4 2023, Circana ran a sentiment whilst Transformers and TMNT will celebrate 40 years survey asking UK consumers how they usually get each; each of these brands is expected to capitalise on their 2023 performance. Other properties celebrating a f f UWNHJ GFSI \MNHM NX YMJ QFWLJXY UWNHJ GFSI WJXNXYJI GJYYJW YMFS YMJ RFWPJY \MNQXY f f FSI f , milestone this year, such f J]UJWNJSHJI YMJ KFXYJW IJHQNSJ as Playmobil or Barbie, will provide another (MFSLJ >4> TK ;FQZJ 8FQJX opportunity for new launches, media and in! f store activations, as well social media campaigns f f and awareness building. The higher price points saw some decline last year, with the Over £100 price point down by -3%. At lower price points, Collectibles continue to be a growing trend that should continue in 2024, especially with all the new launches. One in every four toy units sold in 2023 was a collectible item, generating 14.5% of the total toys market value. Collectibles value sales were up +3% vs. 2022 and the average selling price was £7.46. In fact, none of the top 50 Collectibles properties have an average selling price above £13.50. Pokémon and Squishmallows were the top selling Collectible Properties in 2023, and their
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New launches and expansions to beloved ranges bring excitement and innovation to the toy market – a market which thrives on newness, especially when targeting the right consumers, in the right places, at the right price point.
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