Report Provides Annual Household-Level Toy Purchases

While sales at brick and mortar stores within the total toys market in the U.S. declined slightly from $21.1 billion in 2006 to $20.5 billion in 2007, recent findings from the Toys Market Dynamics Report, the most recent report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, show that more U.S. households purchased toys in 2007 than in 2006. According to the report, there were 107 million toy-buying households in 2007, up from 105 million in 2006, a 2% increase. The overall decline in sales resulted from a 5% decrease in the average annual toy spend per buying household. The average amount spent on toys per buying household in 2007 was approximately $191 compared to an average of $201 in 2006.

“Even though 2007 was a tough year for the U.S. toy industry, it’s important to note that over 9 out of 10 households purchased a toy last year. Few industries are as widely penetrated in the lives of U.S. families as are toys,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group.

The Toys Market Dynamics Report, a first of its kind in the industry, gives readers the ability to look at the toy consumer in an entirely new way – by looking beyond the traditional consumer tracking information and digging deep into household penetration and buying rates for toys. With this new information, toy manufacturers will benefit from understanding what drives sales of their own products and their competitors’ products - the number of people buying or the amount each buyer is spending - and where there may be opportunities to increase sales. Retailers will gain an understanding of U.S. household penetration for toys at their stores vs. their competition, as well as how the buying rate for toys in their stores varies across categories and properties. Readers can also estimate how much of a sales increase can be expected with an increase in buyers or buying rate.

A look at households that only have kids ages 6 and under present shows that 100% purchased a toy and spent over $485 on toys throughout the year in 2007. According to the report, 88% of households with no kids present under the age of 18 still purchased at least one toy last year and spent an average of $113.

“Young kids really are the sweet spot for the toy industry because they’re not yet as distracted by other entertainment choices as older kids might be. But the fact that households with no kids present are still buying some type of toys shows just how broad the appeal of toys actually is,” said Frazier.

Methodology
Data for this report is derived from UPC-coded purchases recorded by IRI’s longitudinal consumer purchase panel. Panelists use a personal scanner to continuously record purchases made by all household members from any location. This data is matched to NPD’s toys data dictionary to identify toy purchases and key item attributes. The report is based on static samples of 25,000+ households, drawn for each year separately (2006 and 2007). The data was balanced and weighted to U.S. households according to the U.S. Census for each year, and calibrated to sales volume estimates for brick & mortar stores reported by NPD’s consumer tracking service for toys..