Worldwide Toy Sales Experience Growth For First Half of 2018

Last Updated on January 3, 2020 by Danielle

The NPD Group reports that global toy industry sales have grown to $18.4 billion, representing a 4 percent increase. Of all the countries tracked, Mexico was the fastest-growth market.

The NPD Group has reported that global toy industry sales have grown 4 percent for the first half of 2018, hitting $18.4 billion in revenue. The growth in sales was driven by L.O.L. Surprise!, which interestingly is the #1 toy property in all countries tracked.

Toy sales were tracked from January to June 2018 for the US, Canada, UK, France, Australia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil.

Interestingly, Mexico was reportedly the fastest-growth global toy market of all the 13 international markets with a 15 percent surge after growth of 20 percent in 2017. Second was Brazil with an 11 percent increase, while the United States was third with a 7 percent growth.

Through the first half of 2018, the US generated $7.9 billion in toy sales. Growth in this market is being driven largely by $5 to $19.99 priced toys. Examples include L.O.L. Surprise!, Fingerlings, Hatchimals, and Soft’n Slo Squishies to name a few.

The Australian and Canadian markets have seen growth of 4 and 3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Europe saw a decline of 1 percent. Germany, Russia, Italy, and Spain experienced growth, while the other four European countries saw declines.

The global collectibles market is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, it increased 26 percent worldwide thus far – now accounting for 11 percent of total global toy industry sales. Youth electronics has grown by 29 percent, driven primarily by the Fingerlings. The miscellaneous toys experienced an increase of 12 percent, boosted by Soft’n Slo Squishies, MLB cards, and Panini Russia 2018 World Cup stickers. Lastly, the games segment grew by 12 percent because of Monopoly, UNO, and Exploding Kittens.

Here’s an overview of the Top 10 global toy properties for the first half of 2018.

Top 10 Global Toy Properties (First Half, 2018)
1. L.O.L. Surprise!
2. Total Marvel
3. Star Wars
4. Nerf
5. Barbie
6. Hot Wheels
7. Pokemon
8. PAW Patrol
9. Total DC Comics
10. LEGO City

In addition to these top toy properties, The NPD Group has identified the key themes of dinosaurs and unicorns as growing in popularity while slime and toilet humor still remain strong.

Source: KidScreen