After the spike in demand seen during the pandemic, particularly 2020, sales of toys and games recorded a marked decline in Western Europe in 2022. Most country markets were impacted by high inflation and the consequent pressure on local consumers’ purchasing power. In addition, there were some supply chain problems in 2022, particularly with Sony’s PlayStation lines, which negatively affected sales of these products. However, a return to positive growth is expected for toys and games from 2023.
This report comes in PPT.
Squishmallows have been enjoying a veritable boom in the UK market, taking the plush category by storm, and securing top spot within the space of a couple of years. Also holding this position in the Netherlands, owner Jazwares will now be looking to extend this to other major markets in Western Europe in the coming years.
As across much of the region, the growing “kidults” consumer group is the most significant demographic in terms of disposable income in the UK. Companies therefore continue to expand their portfolios to satisfy the demands of this specific consumer segment – eg LEGO continuing to grow its “Adults Welcome” product line or the “Mattel Creations” platform that is focused on “kidult” fans and collectors.
Retail e-commerce received further impetus through home seclusion and non-essential retail store closures during the pandemic, now accounting for more than half of toys and games sales in all the main country markets. However, traditional toys and games stores still remains an important channel for traditional toys and games, with seeing and even testing potential purchases still valued by consumers for many products in this category.
Online games and subscriptions are expected to see dynamic growth in the coming years. They offer a cost-effective gaming model as users get access to a wide range of titles for a yearly or monthly fee. Microsoft's Game Pass is helping drive the category's growth, boosted by the company’s ongoing product bundling strategy, in which it offers a limited-time free Game Pass subscription with the purchase of its static consoles and physical or digital video games.
This is the aggregation of traditional toys and games and video games.
See All of Our DefinitionsIf you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extraction Free!