Ride-ons from Little Tikes and Mookie Toys among the items seeing an uplift in sales, says NPD.
It will come as no surprise that games and puzzles and outdoor toys have so far been in the big winners from it comes to lockdown sales trends.
The NPD Group has released data on the board game and toys playing habits of Brits and our European neighbours during the lockdown period.
According to the latest consumer research, 31% said they had played with games and toys more since the start of lockdown. This compares to 37% in France and 27% in Germany. The growth of play is more marked among 18-34 year olds and parents of young children – 47% of both these groups said they’d spent more time on play. At 24%, the same is true of those without children, too.
Meanwhile, one quarter of Brits plans to buy toys and games before the end of lockdown, which is more than the Germans (18%) and the French (21%).
Sales of games and puzzles increased by 42% since the beginning of the year to April 18. They represent 13.2% of all toy sales by value, compared to 9.4% for the same period a year ago.
While board game sales dominated during the week pre-lockdown (peaking at 21% of total toy sales in between March 15-21), the outdoor category has been the largest by far since then, with 29.3% of sales and a spend of £7.7 million in the week of April 12-18. That represents a growth of 1.7 points in market share compared to the same period last year.
Among the top ten bestselling outdoor toys for the latest week of data are the classic early spring items such as ride-ons from Little Tikes and Mookie Toys, sports toys like the Wubble Bubble from Vivid, splash pools, water balloons, bubble toys and Nerf blasters.
“During lockdown, leisure and play activities have taken a central place in family life,” said Frédérique Tutt, global toy market expert for The NPD Group. “With the arrival of sunny days, parents want to see their children play outside and get fresh air where they can, especially if they are lucky enough to have a garden. This could continue if travel remains limited during the summer holidays.”
