Opinion
Which toy trends do we predict will be big next year? KidsKnowBest is a leading kids digital media agency, and in this month’s column, Lydia Mossahebi looks at what the future holds and what can we expect from the buying behaviours of families moving into 2021.
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s we come to the end of 2020, it is time to take stock of what has been an extremely unusual year, and one with monumental shifts in consumer behaviour that could linger for some time. At KidsKnowBest we engage with thousands of kids and families monthly for research and to give us insight into how attitudes have shifted. As we move into the new year with more potential restrictions and cycles of lockdown, we can see how these patterns will repeat and what this means for brands and retailers, especially in the way they engage with consumers. It will be key for toy companies and brands to keep in mind the challenges families are facing, and how to produce play experiences that meet kids’ needs. We’ve identified four of these family needs and subsequent areas with potential for growth. Entertaining kids indoors As we’ve all become seasoned pros at staying home, a big challenge remains; how to keep kids entertained while indoors all day. This has been especially relevant as we move into a winter lockdown. Toys that have opportunity for innovation and creativity are the ones that can build a market in this space. Disposable makes, bakes and crafts increased in sales over the first lockdown and, as the problem is still there, so is the potential market. It will be important to focus on repeatability; when families and kids are going to get through kits and projects quickly, how do the products create a space for innovation within them and how easily can then be started again? Different age play More time at home has meant kids have spent less time playing with their peers and more time playing with their siblings. With this comes the challenges of creating play experiences that have universal age appeal. From our research, we’ve seen Monopoly and Uno as standout popular board games played with the whole family. With toys, brands such as Lego and Playmobil also have appeal for cross-age play: they can involve young kids who may not necessarily be able to play fully, but can still join in with the fun and shared experience. Meanwhile they provide enough of a challenge for older kids. They can be played many times over as the outcome is never predictable and the play has enough variety to keep it engaging.
These principles can be applied to other markets too; video games such as Roblox support creative play at different levels of expertise, which means siblings are able to enjoy the game together while playing at their own level. Supporting active play indoors Over 1.1 million kids in the UK do not have access to a private garden, and this disparity really stood out during the first wave of lockdown. Now is the time to look at ways to create active play opportunities indoors. From our research, kids spoke to us about how much they missed the chance to move around and be active, including Oscar, aged 6, who told us he missed playing outside so much that he’s “running around indoors like Nelly the Elephant making lots of noise!”. In fact, you just need to look at Joe Wicks’ YouTube series or the prolific rise of TikTok dance crazes to see how much kids enjoy getting active at home. The opportunity is to help channel some of that energy into play and build brand loyalty. It’s not just products like Nerf Blaster that do this; movies and TV shows can also help. We found shows that create social moments, with lots of opportunity for co-viewing, can encourage active and sibling play indoors. Just think about when you see kids running around pretending to be the characters they see on screen. It’s an especially prominent reaction to superhero brands, as kids will play in highly physical ways that involve running, jumping, climbing, hiding and pretending to fly. From a research project we ran for Entertainment One and Hasbro on PJ Masks, we saw repeated episodic content within the context of a show can kick start the narrative of a kid taking up physical play with a toy. In addition, the shows that have a mix of older and younger characters and repeatable locations help kids to bring the storylines into the real world and engage in active play within their homes. Helping kids relax Finally, the last challenge we identified for families is how to help kids relax and manage their mental health. As anxieties about the outside world have become more tangible, our day-to-day lives have drastically changed and coping mechanisms have altered: we all need more support to manage our emotions and kids are no different. Cosmic
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Lydia Mossahebi editorial director, KidsKnowBest.
Kids Yoga, which began posting videos in 2012, was already achieving an impressive 100,000 views a day before the pandemic. By late March, after the UK entered lockdown, its daily viewing figures had soared to around a million. Headspace Kids partnered with Sesame Street this year on new animated shorts designed to teach kids the fundamentals of mindfulness, meditation and emotional learning. Since April, the first video has over three million views. The need and appetite is there for toys and games that build mindful and relaxing experiences for kids. We know circumstances may remain unpredictable for a while and it can be tricky to see how the landscape of 2021 might look, but what we do know is that kids and families will still need to be entertained and supported. By looking at what we learned from how families responded to the difficulties of this year, and what became important, we can go into 2021 with a renewed focus on where the opportunities are to make real and welcome changes.
www.kidsknowbest.co.uk.