Almost half of toys bought underneath £15 as mother and father reduce prices

Toys bought for lower than £15 accounted for practically half of the UK market final yr, as stress from the rising value of dwelling continued to bear down on customers.

Gross sales of toys and video games had been down 3.7% by worth on the earlier yr, trade analysts Circana stated, as mother and father tightened their belts and sought out lower-priced presents for youngsters.

Regardless of the pattern of adults more and more shopping for toys and video games for themselves, merchants stated general gross sales had felt the impression of an “unsettled financial panorama”.

Retailers are more and more pinning their hopes on collectables, interesting to adults and youngsters, that are low in worth however can immediate a number of purchases.

The Squishmallows Plush 8″ Assortment, which usually sells for about £8.50, retained its place because the top-selling merchandise for the second-year-running.

Squishmallows grew to become in style in the course of the pandemic when folks shared their collections on social media, and stated that hugging the toys helped them to really feel calmer and fewer anxious.

Toys costing lower than £10 accounted for 28% of the market.

The British Toy and Interest Affiliation’s 71st annual Toy Honest takes place in London over the following three days, with hopes for a rebound in fortunes by innovation.

That may see additional releases of mini or micro collectable gadgets.

Nonetheless, the sector might once more be counting on adults shopping for for themselves as a lot as their youngsters – with nostalgia and constructing units resembling Lego anticipated to promote properly once more subsequent Christmas.

Gross sales of toys and video games noticed an enormous elevate throughout Covid as extra households frolicked at residence throughout lockdowns, however gross sales have fallen since 2021.

A falling delivery price, the price of dwelling and fewer huge hit movie franchises have been blamed for hitting the market final yr.

Kerri Atherton, from the affiliation, stated: “These newest figures have undoubtedly been formed by the present unsettled financial panorama which is impacting folks’s spending throughout a variety of client items, together with toys.

“Nonetheless, it’s promising to see there are pockets of elevated spend throughout the UK toy sector.”