The NPD Group Reports on 2019 Global Toy Industry Sales: decrease of 3 percent

Port Washington, NY, February 18, 2020 – Toy industry sales decreased by 3 percent ^* in 2019 across the 13 global markets (G13)^** tracked by The NPD Group, a leading global information company.  Overall, the industry performed better outside the United States, with Russia, Germany,  and Brazil up 5 percent, 3 percent, and 2 percent, respectively. LATAM sales increased 1 percent, and Europe sales were down 2 percent.

The first six months of 2019 declined 6 percent, underperforming primarily due to comparisons to the Toys?R”Us liquidation sales in 2018 in large global markets; but the second half marked a clear improvement, declining only 1 percent.

In 2019, Action Figures & Accessories and Games/Puzzles were the two growth areas for the year, with respective growth of 14 percent and 3 percent, while Building Sets and Dolls out-performed the market. Action Figures (+11 percent), Action Figure Playsets & accessories (+21 percent), Action Figure Collectibles (+16 percent) and Battling Toys & Playsets (+41 percent) all contributed to the growth of Action Figures overall. Games/Puzzles showed strong resilience with Strategic Trading Card Games, Card Games, Family Strategy Games, Adult Puzzles and Adult Games all experiencing growth.

Looking at the top five selling toy properties across the G13 in 2019, L.O.L. Surprise! was the largest property, followed by Barbie, Marvel Universe, Hot Wheels, and Nerf. Overall growth was driven by entertainment properties with movie launches in 2019 such as Disney Frozen, Toy Story, Pokémon, and LEGO Movie, as well as the video games license, Fortnite.

“A 3 percent increase in licensed toys, driven by an unprecedented line-up of family movies, helped the market, especially during the second half of the year. The closures of major specialist chains had the most adverse effect on global toy sales. In those countries where a major chain closed down (U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, and Netherlands), sales were down 5 percent compared to 2018. Sales outside of those countries, however, were up 1 percent for the year,” said Frédérique Tutt, Global Toys Industry Analyst at The NPD Group.  “The industry is preparing itself for 2020. In the U.S., we are pleased that the threat around tariffs for toys is no longer a concern, but we are now facing a potential industrial crisis with the coronavirus, which is having an impact on manufacturing in China. We hope the situation will improve very soon and we can get back to business as usual.”

*Source: The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, $ Sales adjusted & projected / January-December 2019
** NPD’s Global Toys footprint covers Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.

The NPD Group: U.S. Toy Industry Sales Experienced +7.6 Percent Growth in the First Quarter of 2020

Port Washington, NY, April 29, 2020 – The U.S. toy industry saw dollar sales increase by $256 million to $3.6 billion in the first quarter (January 2020 – March 2020), a 7.6 percent increase over the same time period last year*.

While Easter, which occurred a week earlier this year than it did in 2019, may have been responsible for some sales in March, school closings was the key driver of toy industry growth in the first quarter.

Games and Puzzles, Outdoor & Sports Toys, Building Sets, and Arts & Crafts drove the sales increases with growth of 55 percent, 22 percent, 20 percent, and 13 percent, respectively, over the first quarter of 2020.

The top properties for Q1 2020 included L.O.L. Surprise!, Pokémon, Disney Frozen, Barbie, Star Wars, Marvel Universe, Hot Wheels, Nerf, Funko Pop!, and Little Tikes. The top 10 properties combined posted +19 percent growth versus the rest of the market, which was up +5 percent.

Once again, content proved to be king as all four of the top four growth properties (Disney Frozen, Star Wars, Toy Story and Pokémon) were bolstered by movie releases in 2019.

Assessing the Impact of COVID 19

In mid-March, the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread school and workplace closures throughout the U.S. As a result, many parents had to work from home while, at the same time, manage their children’s schooling and free time.  Adding to that, the elimination of organized sports and the negative impact of widespread social isolation on families led many parents to turn to toys for help.

While COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy, it has bolstered the toy industry in the U.S. During the five weeks from March 15 to April 18 the toy industry grew +19 percent vs. +1 percent for the first 10 weeks of the year**. Easter sales were included for both years during this five-week comparison period and, therefore, had no seasonal impact.

Not surprisingly, the strongest dollar growth categories during this five-week time period, contributing 77 percent of the growth, included Games and Puzzles, driven by family board/action games, adult puzzles, card games, and children's games; and Outdoor and Sports Toys, driven by playground equipment, skates/skateboards/scooters, and pools. Building Sets and Arts and Crafts contributed the remaining 23 percent of the growth.

“With organized and school sports cancellations being one of the casualties of COVID-19, parents and children yearned for something to take the place of those outdoor, physical activities. Trampolines and skates/skateboards/scooters fulfilled that need for many families,” said Juli Lennett, NPD’s toys industry advisor, “And with warmer weather approaching, Outdoor and Sports Toys will be the supercategory to watch if lockdowns continue.”

*Source: The NPD Group/ Retail Tracking Service, January-March 2020

**Source: The NPD Group/ Weekly Retail Tracking Service/ Dollar Sales/ Week Ending April 18, 2020