WHAT IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS THE MOST IN 2012? Moshi
Other 16.67
The economy 17.78
Nothing 3.33
Monsters 3.33
The weather 8.89
Busy
Christmas 5.56
Lower
customer spending 4.44
Competition with other retailers 17.78
Olympics 3.33
New kids tablets 3.33
Store expansion 6.67
More toy advertising 2.22
Amount of new toys 2.22
Skylanders 4.44
WHICH TOY CATEGORY HAS PERFORMED BEST FOR YOU THIS YEAR?
Action figures 11.7
Board games 7.45
Collectables 8.51
Pre-school 17.02
Construction 18.09
No surprises here – most retailers say that the fast growing construction and ever-reliable pre-school categories performed best for them. Action figures also stood
R/C products 3.19
All of them 2.13
None in particular 2.13
Girls dolls 9.57
Educational 3.19
Other 5.32 Wooden 5.32
Electronic 2.13
Bikes/ outdoor 4.26
HOW HAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS 2012 TAKINGS BEEN COMPARED TO 2011’S? The same 30.11 Better than 2011 40.86 Lower than 2011 29.03
2012 was a Merry Christmas for 40.86 per cent of toy retailers, who said that their festive sales looked to be better than they were in 2011. However, in a statistic that cannot be ignored,
nearly a third of retailers said their Christmas sales were down year-on-year. Another third said sales were roughly the same as they were in 2011. Staff from Toycastle said: “People seem to be
waiting until the last minute to get all their Christmas presents.” Toys R Us’ Bradford store added: “It’s not down to
products as much at Christmas, it’s down to footfall and whether customers have money to spend.”
out, getting 11.7 per cent of the votes – perhaps driven by blockbuster movies like The Avengers and the return of Turtles. Despite collectable lines being among the top selling toys of 2012, only 8.5 per cent of retailers listed them as their best performers. Girls dolls took almost 10 per cent of votes, while board games took 7.45 per cent.
The challenging economic climate maintained its grip on the High Street last year, with around 18 per cent of retailers saying it impacted their business the most. Another 18 per cent said tough competition with other toy retailers – especially multiples, supermarkets and online sites – continued to affect them. The poor weather took business away from almost nine per cent of the retailers we spoke to. But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Over six per cent said store expansions boosted trade, four per cent cited the success of Skylanders Giants and others mentioned Moshi Monsters and kids’ tablets. Three per cent of retailers were so confident they said nothing had negatively affected them throughout 2012. Store staff from Toy Attic told ToyNews: “The tough climate makes trading very hard – customers have little money to spare.” Toy Galaxy added: “I think the biggest impact on our business this year has been the increase in the influence of online shopping, which has made already savvy customers even more price conscious.”