Insight
To monitor what’s happening in the ever-changing toy market, Circana collects point-of-sale information from all major toy retailers. This information, combined with our analysts’ industry perspectives, delivers a comprehensive view of what’s selling and where. We also field over 12m consumer surveys annually to help industry leaders understand why consumers shop where they shop and why they buy what they buy. For more information visit www.circana.com.
When the going gets tough… Rory looks at how even though 2023, and especially Q4, proved challenging for the UK toy market, innovation and unexpected best sellers means there is still much to applaud.
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e’ve spent the last few weeks here at Circana talking to clients about how 2023 performed, and the overall headline is that it was one of the toughest years for the UK toy market that we’ve ever seen. The year finished at -5% in value, and Q4 was -7%, so the last quarter was actually behind the full year trend. Although as we cover 104 categories and there were over 300 toy manufacturers in our data in 2023, they can’t all have had a tough time. Despite the fact that Q4 was a challenging period, over 130 toy manufacturers added value for the quarter, so we should celebrate these top performers. The list of top growth manufacturers in Q4 shows that the top manufacturers for value gain are all outside the Top 10 in value size. Winning Moves was the top performing toy manufacturer in Q4, and the company is ranked at No. 27 for value size. Looking down the Top 10 for value gain, there are three games manufacturers, indicating that the category enjoyed a good end to the year. The figures bear that out: in the final quarter of 2023, sales of games held up well compared to the total market, with a trend of -3% for both Q4 and the month of December. Strong performances from specific categories included
family board/action games growing +2% in Q4, card games +4%, pre-school games +6% and electronic handheld games +50%. The growth is spread across a range of different areas and manufacturers too; family board/action games saw innovation such as Twister Air from Hasbro and Monopoly Squishmallows from Winning Moves. In card games, Uno from Mattel had another strong Q4 alongside Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza from Asmodee. Pre-school games saw new items having an impact, with Monkey Sea Monkey Poo from Spin Master the No. 2 item in the category for Q4, and Gooey Louie Pick a Winner from John Adams at No. 3, both new entrants in the pre-school games area. In electronic handheld and tabletop games there were more signs of innovation with the football-based game, Fanzone from Golden Bear, coming in at No. 4 for the category. Closely behind Winning Moves as the No. 1 top growth manufacturers in games is Big Potato at No. 2, outperforming many larger competitors and the ninth top gaining manufacturer in Q4 in toys overall. Titles like Herd Mentality and Chicken vs Hotdog are top items in family games and appeal to both adults and children. Tonies was the No. 2 growth manufacturer in Q4 2023 and has moved up to being the No. 32 manufacturer for this period from No. 42 the year before. The Toniebox sits within
Rory Partis
Director UK Toys, EuroToys Circana the infant/toddler & pre-school category, in which Tonies is now the No.6 manufacturer and the No. 2 for growth. The strength of licensing in 2023 helped this item, with a wide range of licences now available - growth came from Peppa Pig, Disney Princess and Paw Patrol, amongst others. Its performance was helped by new licences too, with new lines for Q4 featuring properties such as Lilo & Stitch, Ben & Holly and Roald Dahls Revolting Rhymes. Another item to highlight is the Smart Ball Soccer Bot from Golden Bear, which had a fantastic November and was actually the No. 1 item in the total outdoor & sports toys category for Q4. In the month of November, this item was the No. 18 item in the total toy market and could have been a top item in Q4 if there had been additional stock. The popularity of this football-based line means it should carry on to enjoy a very strong 2024, with the European Football Championships in the summer.
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The finger/extreme vehicles subclass was one of the top growth subclasses in Q4, with double digit growth of +26%. Tech Deck was the standout property within this subclass and grew by +27% for the quarter with growth across a number of items. At the end of summer, the 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris, and with skateboarding now a fixture of the summer Olympics, we should see this brand and category get a boost out of the exposure the sport will receive. These strong performances illustrate that even in challenging times, there was some real innovation in the UK toy market over the past year. 2023 was undoubtedly a tough year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate success. Growth in toys often comes from unexpected areas - which perhaps means they should be celebrated even more.
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