The UK toys & games report offers a comprehensive insight into the toys & games market in the UK, analysing the sector, the major players, the main trends, and consumer attitudes, as well as providing market forecasts out to 2027.
In 2022, the market declined 3.2% and the outlook in 2023 remains bleak, with the sector forecast to decrease by 0.4% this year. This is driven predominantly by the cost-of-living crisis deterring less essential spending, particularly among adults that purchase toys & games for themselves. While it will certainly be difficult for parents to limit toys & games purchases for their children, especially in the lead-up to Christmas and birthdays, we do expect that many will look to trade down to cheaper brands or retailers to save money, both value and volumes within the toys & games market are anticipated to be in decline in 2023.
In 2022, the market declined 3.2% and the outlook in 2023 remains bleak, with the sector forecast to decrease by 0.4% this year. This is driven predominantly by the cost-of-living crisis deterring less essential spending, particularly among adults that purchase toys & games for themselves. While it will certainly be difficult for parents to limit toys & games purchases for their children, especially in the lead-up to Christmas and birthdays, we do expect that many will look to trade down to cheaper brands or retailers to save money, both value and volumes within the toys & games market are anticipated to be in decline in 2023.
Scope
- Toys & games market to decline -3.2% in 2023 as consumers cut back discretionary spend.
- Amazon remains the market leader in 2023, despite a decline in market share as online sales fall.
- Soft toys was the most popular category for toys & games purchases in 2023.
Reasons to Buy
- Using our five year forecasts to 2027, learn which subcategories in the toys & games market will be the fastest performing to enable focus and investment in these winning product areas.
- Understand how drivers of toys & games purchases, such as range, price and quality, vary in importance among different demographics in order to maximise sales potential.
- Use our in-depth analysis of the challenges faced by key retailers in the sector in order to understand how to steal shoppers and market share.
Table of Contents
- Executive summary
- UK toys & games market to return to growth in 2024 as online sales bounce back
- Amazon set to retain market dominance but supermarkets and discounters remain a significant threat
- Soft and construction toys to see the highest value growth between 2022 and 2027
- KEY TRENDS
- Market drivers
- Market inhibitors
- Key Trends: Older consumers fueling growth in the toys & games market
- Key Trends: Embracing experiences will help to keep footfall flowing
- Key Trends: Rising inflation forces toy specialist to join forces with competitors
- Key Trends: Digital natives will drive online toys & games penetration into 2027
- Key Trends: Potential films to impact the market
- Strategies for success
- MARKET SIZE AND FORECASTS
- Five year growth 2017-2027
- Market size, 2017-2027
- CATEGORY PERFORMANCE AND FORECASTS
- Key category trends
- Top toys & games categories
- Market by category %, 2017-2027
- Category segment value and forecast, 2022 & 2027
- CHANNEL PERFORMANCE AND FORECASTS
- Online market, 2017-2027
- Channel growth, 2017-2027
- Market by channel, 2022 and 2027
- Channel value and forecast, 2022 and 2027
- REVENUE AND MARKET SHARES OF TOP 10 PLAYERS
- Top 10 Uk Toys & Games retailers, 2022
- Market shares of the top 10 retailers
- Top 20 most visited and purchased from retailers for Toys & Games, 2022
- Toys & Games competitor overlap, 2022
- COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE: PROFILES OF LEADING PLAYERS
- Smyths
- The Entertainer
- Amazon
- Hamleys
- LEGO
- Games Workshop
- The Discounters
- The Big Four
- CONSUMERS
- Key consumer trends
- Toys & Games penetration and profile
- Toys & Games category penetration
- Toys & Games channel usage
- Toys & Games fulfilment methods
- Toys & Games purchase location
- Toys & Games purchase frequency
- Toys & Games consumer drivers
- Toy purchasing habits for gifts
- Toys purchased from supermarkets
- Where are consumers purchasing toys
- Consumer drivers
- METHODOLOGY, DEFINITIONS AND CONTACTS
- UK Toys & Games Category Segment Value and Forecast, 2022 & 2027
- UK Toys & Games Channel Value & Forecast, 2022 & 2027
- Top 10 UK Toys & Games Retailers, 2022
- UK Toys & Games Competitor Overlap, 2022
- UK Toys & Games Category Penetration by Demographic, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Channel Usage by Demographic, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Fulfilment Methods, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Purchase Locations Methods, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Consumer Drivers, 2023
- Social media channels that influenced the last item consumers purchased online, May 2022 & 2023
- UK Toys & Games Market GBP m, 2017, 2022, 2027 & CAGR %
- UK Toys & Games Market Value GBPm, 2017-2027
- UK Toys & Games Market Annual Growth %, 2017-27
- Top 4 Toys & Games Categories, by value GBPm, 2017 & 2027
- Top 4 Toys & Games Categories, by value growth %, 2017 & 2027
- UK Toys & Games Market by Category %, 2017, 2022 & 2027
- UK Toys & Games Online Market Size GBPm and Online Penetration %, 2017-2027
- UK Toys & Games Channel Growth, 2017-2027
- UK Toys & Games Market by Channel, 2022 & 2027
- Market Shares of Top 10 UK Toys & Games Retailers, 2021-2023e
- Top 20 Most Visited Retailers for Toys & Games %, 2023
- Top 20 Most Purchased from Retailers for Toys & Games %, 2023
- Smyths's UK Toys & Games sales GBPm, 2017-2022
- Smyths's UK Toys & Games market share % 2017-2023e
- Smyths's UK Toys & Games Penetration %, 2023
- The Entertainer's UK Toys & Games sales GBPm, 2017-2022
- The Entertainer's UK Toys & Games market share % 2017-2023e
- The Entertainer's UK Toys & Games Penetration %, 2023
- Amazon's UK Toys & Games sales GBPm, 2017-2022
- Amazon's UK Toys & Games market share % 2017-2023e
- Amazon's UK Toys & Games Penetration %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Penetration %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Profile %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Category Penetration %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Channel Usage %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Fulfilment Methods %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Purchase Frequency %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Purchase Locations %, 2023
- UK Toys & Games Consumer Drivers %, 2023
- Proportion of consumers who stated that they would buy toys as a gift %, 2023
- When buying the following toys, consumers stated whether they preferred to buy own brand or branded toys %, 2023
- How consumers view supermarkets in relation to toys %, 2023
- Proportion of consumers who consider supermarkets a “toy destination” by age %, 2023
- Consumer purchase locations %, 2023
- Proportion of consumers selecting each factor as being most important when shopping for toys %, 2023
- Proportion of consumers that stated the top four factors as being most important by type of branding %, 2023
- Consumer drivers by retailer type %, 2023
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Amazon
- Aldi
- Argos
- ASDA
- B&M
- Disney
- Games Workshop
- Hamleys
- Hasbro
- Home Bargains
- John Lewis & Partners
- LEGO
- Lidl
- Marvel
- Mattel
- Morrisons
- Poundland
- Primark
- Sainsbury's
- Smyths
- Squismallows
- Tesco
- The Entertainer
- The Range
- The Very Group
- The Works
- TikTok
- TK Maxx
- WH Smith
- Wilko
- YouTube
