Toy trends: Are people still spending?
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2022
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Christmas and the holiday season is a crucial time for toy retailers, and hopes will be high for sales to return to pre-pandemic levels. But with the rising cost of living, we find out if families will be cutting back on toy spending this year - and look at the toys topping the popularity charts.
We'll also find out how much does TV and film influence the types of toys in demand.
Frederique Tutt from market research company NPD group explains the trends in toy sales, and how the type of toys that people are buying is changing.
Elizabeth Hotson visits the DreamToys event in London, organised by the toy retailers association. She speaks to Paul Reader, the chair of the DreamToys selection committee about what’s making the top 10 toys list this year.
Hedley Barnes, senior vice president for International from Spin Master, the company behind both the Paw Patrol TV series and toys, explains the valuable link between the show and the merchandise.
Also on the list are Rainbow High Dolls – Sarah Taylor is managing director, UK and Ireland, for MGA entertainment, the company behind the dolls. She tells Elizabeth why diversity, which they champion, appeals to families.
And Alan Simpson, chair of the toy retailers association, says he expects a lot of the ‘old favourites’ like Lego, Barbie, Monopoly and Play Dough to still be really popular.
Presented and produced by Elizabeth Hotson
(Image: A toy in a Christmas box. Credit: Getty)
Transcript
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| 0:26.1 | Hello, this is Business Daily with me Elizabeth Hotson and on today's programme we're |
| 0:31.6 | counting down to Christmas. We'll be looking at the relationship between what's on the screen |
| 0:36.3 | and under the Christmas tree. |
| 0:38.8 | Licensing within toys has never been as strong as it is today. |
| 0:43.4 | So we're finding that roughly 30% of all toy dollar sales are linked to an entertainment property one way or another. |
| 0:52.8 | And why there's still a space in Santa's sack for some old favourites. |
| 0:59.0 | Barbies there. You have the old Monopoly favourite there. Sonic, the Hedgehog and Super Mario. |
| 1:06.0 | Tamagotchi, which was launched so many years ago is still a big favourite. |
| 1:11.4 | Rubik's Cube. |
| 1:14.0 | That's all coming up on Business Daily |
| 1:16.2 | from the BBC. |
| 1:26.9 | And that tune can mean only one thing. The big day is approaching. And Christmas |
| 1:32.3 | 2022 should hopefully be rather more joyful than the last couple of years when the shadow of |
| 1:37.5 | coronavirus loomed over many of our festivities. With those dark days, hopefully behind us, |
| 1:43.4 | this year is set to feel a bit more well celebratory. |
| 1:46.7 | And you'd have thought, therefore, it would be boom time for the toy industry, |
| 1:50.2 | with people desperate to fill the homes with mass-produced Christmas cheer. |
| 1:54.2 | And although war in Ukraine, sky-high inflation and spiraling energy prices |
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