Toys and Games in India

COVID-19 impact on toys and games

India was badly impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. The government therefore took stringent measures to control its spread by implementing national and regional lockdowns and educating citizens about the virus and regulations around social distancing and the use of masks.

COVID-19 country impact

India’s lockdown came into effect from 25 March 2020. All forms of movement were restricted for consumers, apart from those classified as essential workers, including medical workers, police and grocery shop owners.

Company response

Traditional toys and games remained highly fragmented in 2020, with over a 75% share of sales coming from local and unbranded products. Mattel Toys (India) was able to retain its leading position in an unprecedented year on the back of games and puzzles brands such as Uno and Scrabble.

Retailing shift

Offline stores suffered the most in 2020, due to store closures, as well as reduced footfall even after toy specialist retailers were allowed to open from June 2020, due to fear of infection. Although for generic product purchases such as card games consumers opted for their neighbourhood general trade store, if they wanted more options in any category, e-commerce platforms served as the default purchasing platform.

What next for toys and games?

In Q1 of 2021, with India’s vaccination drive and improving consumer sentiment, toys and games was expected to see slow recovery. However with the second wave of the pandemic and continued restrictions on imports and delays in quality control clearance, traditional toys and games is likely to continue to see a current value decline in 2021.

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