TRADITIONAL TOYS AND GAMES MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Drivers

Millennials are largely getting inclined toward purchasing figurines, puzzles, and action figures of their favorite cartoon characters and superheroes. Depiction of these characters in movies, television shows, books, and comics is influencing purchasing decisions of millennials, as they want to have these unique collectibles in their collection.

Leading toy brands are capitalizing on this trend by honing in on the target audience’s memories and interests to develop stronger emotional connections. Toy makers are offering toys and games that take the audience down memory lane, by creating a theme around popular themes and characters from the 80s and 90s.

As parents who grew up in the 80s, millennials seek toys and games that feature pop culture references, which include Legos, Transformers, Star Wars, and Strawberry Shortcake for their kids. For instance, in 2020, Leading pop culture consumer products and toys company Funko launched ‘Marvel Battleworld: Mystery of the Thanostones’, a micro table gaming system. The company collaborated with animation production and comics house Marvel to engage their younger fans and adults with a new range of products and animation collaboration.

As an impact of COVID-19, the market witnessed strong growth among high-income and middle-income consumers, leading to the launch of numerous stay-at-home product ranges by the leading players. During the pandemic, toy and game sales were primarily driven by the online retail of products. However, due to delays in much-anticipated movie releases like “Trolls World Tour” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” the toys, collectibles, and other merchandise based on the character of these movies that already reached the retailer stores observed no or minimal sales. Thus, it negatively impacted the growth of global traditional toys and games market.

Market Restraints

Growing inclination towards smartphones and computer games over traditional toys and games is the major factor restraining growth of the traditional toys and games market. This trend is particularly evident in the urban areas of both North America and Europe.