Global Toy Sales Grew by 3 Percent in the First Half of 2017, Reports The NPD Group
Port Washington, NY (PRWEB) August 02, 2017 -- Toy industry sales are up 3 percent from January through June 2017 across the global markets tracked by The NPD Group, a leading global information company. NPD estimates that the industry will grow approximately 4 percent for the full year.
Mexico and Russia grew the fastest, with toy sales in these countries up 20 percent and 14 percent, respectively, with toy sales in the United States experiencing a modest increase of 3 percent. Australia and the United Kingdom were the only two countries tracked by NPD that experienced declines (2 percent and 1 percent, respectively).
“Many family-friendly movies are still due to be released across the globe in the second half of 2017, and I expect the industry will get a boost thanks to entertainment. This will be driven especially by the more toyetic movies including Star Wars, Cars 3, Transformers, and Spider-Man,” said Frédérique Tutt, global toys industry analyst at The NPD Group.
The collectibles market continued to experience double-digit growth in the first half of 2017, helped by the international popularity of L.O.L Surprise, Pokémon cards, and Hatchimals. Global sales of collectibles increased by 15 percent, and now account for close to 10 percent of dollar sales in the total market. In terms of supercategory performance, Games/Puzzles was the top gainer, with dollar sales up 19 percent. The fidget spinner craze drove growth within All Other Toys, with sales in this supercategory up 10 percent. Outdoor & Sports Toys, the largest supercategory, grew its sales by 2 percent. Building Sets and Action Figures both lost traction, with sales down 6 percent and 9 percent, respectively.
“In the first half of 2017, we saw the tangible impact of social media in causing viral toys successes. While in years past it would have taken something like fidget spinners months to travel internationally, today, social media outlets are allowing consumers around the world to discover new toys at the same time,” said Tutt. “Trends are amplifying quickly and becoming more widespread, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry.”
Source: The NPD Group, Inc. / Retail Tracking Service, January-June 2017
NPD’s Global Toys footprint covers Australia, Benelux (Belgium and Netherlands), Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.
About The NPD Group, Inc.
NPD is the leading global provider of market information and business solutions covering brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, and emerging channels in more than 20 industries. We combine our unique data assets with analytic solutions to help our clients measure performance, predict trends, and improve results, advising them to help drive successful growth. Practice areas include apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, books, consumer electronics, diamonds, e-commerce, entertainment, fashion accessories, food consumption, foodservice, footwear, home, juvenile products, mobile, office supplies, retail, sports, technology, toys, travel retail, games, and watches / jewelry. For more information, visit npd.com and npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdtoys
Marissa Guyduy, The NPD Group, http://www.npd.com, +1 (516) 625-2203, [email protected]
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