Kids' Top Toy Categories

More than 2,000 boys and girls ages 6 to 17 responded to Funosophy's survey this year ahead of its 2007/2008 State of the Industry Report, sharing their thoughts on the top toy categories, subcategories, licenses and more. This article, exclusive to Playthings, focuses on the category level, and covers survey highlights from kids ages 6 to 11. The results should help toy industry professionals make educated decisions regarding brand expansion, product planning, and age/gender targeting.

Desire for most toy categories is fairly high among boys 6 to 11, though games continue to dominate, with more than half of boys (54 percent) in this age range hoping to receive some kind of game (including trading card and electronic games, but not video games) in the next few months. Sports equipment is just two points behind, followed by action figures at 47 percent.

While the order in which boys rank the top toy categories is nearly identical to last year's survey, all but two categories (action figures and arts and crafts) lost points with boys this year versus last. While the decreases were minimal, current offerings are getting stale; toymakers could wow boys with new items.

Games continue to be boys' top pick, although they have lost points with both younger (ages 6 to 8) and older (ages 9 to 11) boys since last year, perhaps due to saturation in the electronic handheld subcategory.

More than half of boys 6 to 11 hope to receive outdoor toys or sports equipment this year, but that number has dropped five percentage points since last year, driven primarily by a decrease in older boys' interest. The introduction of some exciting new vehicles this holiday season should help bolster the category.

Building and construction toys also took a hit this year with both younger and older boys. Although nearly half of younger boys indicated interest in construction toys, the percentage was down nearly 10 points since last year's survey, and overall less than 4 in 10 were hoping for such playthings.

Arts and crafts kits, surveyed separately from model and hobby kits, was one of the few areas that increased with boys this year. Interestingly, there was a marked increase in interest among older boys (see chart).

Arts and crafts continue to rank highest with girls, with nearly 70 percent hoping to receive a kit or materials in the next several months. Desire for games, stuffed animals and dolls is fairly even among girls 6 to 11, with the three categories vying for the second place.

Although girls' rankings have changed somewhat versus a year ago, their interest levels in most categories remain fairly consistent, with a few exceptions.

The arts and crafts category continues to inspire girls, with interest levels remaining nearly identical among both younger (ages 6 to 8) and older (ages 9 to 11) girls since last year's survey.

Dolls are down a few points with girls 6 to 11 versus a year ago, due to a decrease among younger girls. Older girls' interest remains consistent (see chart).

Although nearly a third of girls ages 6 to 11 are interested in receiving sports equipment and outdoor toys, the category experienced the biggest decrease since last year's survey. Younger girls' interest remained fairly consistent, but older girls' interest dropped nearly 10 points. The timing is now right for a new, girl-targeted sport or outdoor activity.

The 2007/2008 State of the Industry Report is based on the KidzEyes Holiday Wish List and Habits Survey, which is conducted annually by KidzEyes, a specialized youth market research division of C&R Research, in partnership with Funosophy. The results detailed in this article are based on data collected in the survey conducted by C&R Research between Aug. 2-9, 2007. The study yielded 2,131 completed surveys among boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 17. Results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.12 percentage points.