NPD Anticipates Top Holiday Toys

Every year, the holiday season is ushered in with parents rushing to purchase the best toys for their little ones. Based on what’s been flying off U.S. shelves so far in 2017, global information company The NPD Group has named the top 10 toys that may be hard to find closer to the holidays.

“As consumers make their holiday lists, it is equally important for retailers and manufacturers to manage theirs—and these are the toys that should be on it,” says Juli Lennett, senior vice president and U.S. toys industry analyst for The NPD Group. “Looking at the toys currently gaining the most traction at retail, retailers can use this information to understand safe bets for early re-orders, and manufacturers should ensure that retailers are keeping these items top of mind.”

Looking at the most productive toys, it is a mixed bag of lower and higher priced items across categories. As more activity typically takes place within the higher price-points getting closer to the holiday season, overall it was lower-priced toys that drove year-to-date growth through September 2017. While the industry grew its dollar sales by 3 percent in the first nine months of the year, unit sales grew by 4 percent. Sales of toys priced under $5 increased by 7 percent, and represented about one-third of the total toy industry dollar gains.

Despite running the risk of a sell-out situation, NPD anticipates many consumers may still wait until the week before Christmas to shop (as they did last holiday season) in hopes of better bargains. This is especially likely this year because there is more time to wait; with Christmas falling on a Monday, there is a full weekend directly before it to shop.

“I believe we will see aggressive pre-Black Friday toy promotions at retail, more so this year than last and amplified by the current retail environment,” Lennett says. “Getting shoppers in stores earlier and shopping more frequently will be the key to success for the toy industry this year.”