Toy sales fell 2 percent in 2007
By Staff -- Playthings, 2/12/2008 10:21:00 AM
(UPDATED, Feb. 13, 2008) PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—U.S. retail sales of toys fell 2 percent in 2007 to $22.1 billion, according to The NPD Group’s annual wrap up of the domestic toy industry’s performance.
The results were helped by the addition of a 53rd week to 2007's calendar year, a move worth approximately 2 percent of annual dollar sales and one recommended by the National Retailer Federation. Without the additional week's inclusion, 2007’s sales would have fallen more than 2 percent compared to the prior year.
[Editor's note: NPD has revised 2006's annual dollar sales results upward by $3 million, to $22.6 billion.]
The strong performance of two key super-categories helped to offset industry-wide losses, NPD said: Action Figures & Accessories, up 8 percent, and Vehicles, up 6 percent.
The most significant sales losses were for Dolls, down 8 percent, and Infant/Preschool and Outdoor & Sports Toys, which both recorded 5 percent declines.
“Despite economic concerns, last year’s results speak to the resiliency of both the toy industry and parents’ desire to delight children with new, innovative and fun toys to play with,” said Anita Frazier, NPD’s resident toy industry analyst. “I’m encouraged by the innovation within the toy industry and am eager to see the new product offerings at this year’s Toy Fair.”
Holiday season sales—the period from October through December—were down 5 percent, according to the Associated Press.
Licensed toys represented 27 percent of total industry sales in 2007, with Cars: The Movie, Disney Princess, Dora the Explorer, Spider-Man, and Star Wars leading the list of best-selling licensed toys.
Breaking several years of consistent growth, 2007 was the first in several years that the Mass Merchant/Discount channel did not experienced an increase in its dollar share of the toy industry, coming in at 55 percent. Dollar sales increased in the Online/Internet channel by 9 percent, bringing its share of toy industry sales to 7 percent in 2007.
