Study: Girls' electronic entertainment use up
By Staff -- Playthings, 9/23/2008 9:55:00 AM
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Girls ages 2 to 14 are spending more time this year on entertainment-related activities than they did in 2007, according to a new NPD Group study.
Other insights from NPD’s Girl Power: Understanding This Important Consumer Segment study, which surveyed more than 1,500 girls or their mothers, include:
• Preschoolers (age 2-5) are highly engaged with traditional toys, including plush/stuffed toys, dolls, fashion role-play, puzzles and educational toys; while “First Readers” (age 6-8) are more inclined to play with board games, arts & crafts, and virtual world games.
• For pre-teen girls (age 9-12), playing with traditional toys is still the activity of choice. Despite the natural progression away from traditional toys to games and electronics, many older girls reported they were spending more time this year playing with traditional toys compared to last year.
“Some very traditional play patterns still are the most popular among girls, even in this digital age,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Over 50 percent of girls ages 2-14 engage with dolls, plush and arts & crafts in a given week, which is a testament to the evergreen nature of these types of activities for girls.”
• Tweens (age 9-12) are migrating to computer and video games, especially virtual world online games. Socialization is gearing up among the pre-teens, and the advent of interactive gaming appeals to girls looking for friends from the confines of their homes. Young Teens (age 13-14) are also gamers, but many girls this age are also now listening to music on portable digital music players and talking/texting on their mobile phones.
“Girls, in general, are famously social creatures,” said Frazier. “The growth in use of social networking and virtual world websites by girls is a natural extension of this core value which needs to be recognized by manufacturers who count girls as primary market for their goods and services.”
But not all activities are as age-specific as consumer electronics and video games. When looking at spending penetration, Fashion Apparel & Accessories, and Books, Music & Videos are the top two categories that maintain a high level of popularity across all age groups, and appear to be insulated from the age-factor. In terms of favorite gifts, gift cards are the top choice for most girls, with gift cards being purchased 50 percent of the time, though toys are often given to younger girls and apparel to older girls.
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