Children and Playing Outdoors

Transcription

®
The Duracell
European Toy Survey
Results 2005
THE DURACELL EUROPEAN TOY SURVEY 2005
2
The Duracell European Toy Survey 2005
R E P O RT C O N T E N T
Contact us:
What’s Inside
About the Survey
Pg 3
[email protected]
[email protected]
Background and Approach
Pan-European Overview
Duracell — Project Lead
Monica Gonzalez & Hervé
Cossart
Pg 4
Gain valuable insight and information on children and parent
attitudes towards Toys across Europe
Leisure Activities and Awareness of New Toys
Pg 5
Children and Playing Outdoor
Pg 6
Retail Destination and Christmas Shopping
Pg 7
Parental Shopping Trends
Pg 8
Dialogue —
Project Management, PanEuro PR, and Report content
usage requests
Jane Medina —
Senior Account Manager
[email protected]
NPD Eurotoys — Research
Frédérique Tutt & Wendy
Janssen
[email protected]
[email protected]
Register your interest for
2006 NOW!
ABOUT THE RESEARCHER
The Duracell European Toy Survey was conducted by NPD Eurotoys, the
number One provider of information to the Toy Industry across Europe.
NPD Eurotoys, a division of The NPD Group, Inc., offers international marketers consistent country-by-country market information on consumer purchasing of traditional toys for strategic and tactical decision-making. Information is collected from both retailers
and consumers for richer more actionable insight and a
total market perspective.
First 10 registrations
of interest will receive a classic Duracell
Drumming
Bunny momento.
Simply go to…
www.duracell.com/toys_europe
Duracell is a Division of
The Gillette Company
3
About the Survey
9 C O U N T R I E S , 1 8 L O C AT I O N S ,
9 0 0 C H I L D R E N , 9 0 0 PA R E N T S
Why Duracell?
Did you know - Consumer studies indicate 1 in every 4 batteries will be used in a Toy*? Did you know - of those
batteries, Duracell is the #1 battery choice for toys* across Europe? ...Originated in the US in 1989 and now in
its fifth year in Europe, the Duracell Toy Survey provides an added service to our consumers as well as a platform of partnership with Toy Manufacturers and our retail trade.
As not all toys are battery operated, the survey is open to both battery and
non battery operated toys to provide a true representation of toys available.
Open
to both battery
and non-battery
operated
toys!
The result: A credible, unbiased and unique survey encompassing 9 countries and listening to the toughest panel of judges we could find - the children.
The research is conducted by NPD, the number One provider of Toy Information to the Toy Industry. The results are then communicated through a fully
integrated Pan European marketing effort.
In May 2005, Duracell conducted the fifth annual European Toy Survey research testing. The primary research
objective is to determine a Top 10 Winner List. This provides parents with a "wish list" of what new toys the children tell us they would most like to have at Christmas.
The study took place in 9 Countries, 18 testing locations, among 900 children aged 5-10, and 900+ parents
Belgium
France
Italy
Germany Netherlands Portugal
Spain
Sweden
UK
Within each country 2 locations were selected as testing centers with an even split of boys/girls.
The Toy Selection Process:
Toy manufacturers across the whole Toy Industry with European distribution were invited to take part. Toys could
be entered on the basis that they were toys intended for children aged 5-10 and were available in the country of
entry for the upcoming Christmas season. The final toys selected to take part in the study were chosen by industry experts. Dependent on distribution, some products were entered on a local country basis and others were
entered across all 9 European territories.
There are 3 main elements of the Duracell study:
1.
Quantitative: Top 10 Winner ranking by market + Pan Euro
2.
Qualitative: conducted with the children which provides actionable data and examines trends in children's
behaviour
3.
Qualitative: conducted with the parents which reveals insight into the selection and purchase making
process of parents yielding cross cultural habits especially related to Outdoor playing.
Who sees the Top 10 Results + Research Insights?
The Media, Consumers, Toy Manufacturers, Duracell and our retail partners. In a coordinated marketing effort,
the results are integrated into local PR activity, co-promotional activity and in 2005 in-display.
*Source: CCS 2004
4
Duracell Toy Survey 2005
Pan-Euro Top 10 Results
S C X D I G I TA L S Y S T E M
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. Tecnitoys has been crowned
European winner of the Duracell Toy
Survey once
again;
this
year with the
SCX - The
D i g i t a l
S y s t e m ,
which
was
voted overall number one in eight
countries.
2. Spinmaster’s/Feva’s Girl Crush Air
Brush Tattoo, which was the UK
winner last year scored particularly
high with both
young and older
girls this year and
ended up second
in
the
overall
European top 10.
3. Hasbro’s lovable and huggable Fur
Real Luv Cubs were a real girl’s
favourite. The Fur Real brand was
launched a couple of
years ago and is
growing
from
strenghts to strenghts
across Europe.
4. Mega Bloks Dragon Mountain came in
fourth. Some of the lower price point
products are already ranking in the
top 10, so we expect this huge Mountain set to fly high in kids’ wish lists.
And The Winners Are… !!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
SCX The Digital System
Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo
Fur Real Friends Luv Cubs
Dragon Mountain
Fashion Fever Styling Head
Hot Wheels AcceleRacers
Swamp Beast Set
7. Integra Type R Street Mayhem Tuner
8. Tyco R/C Terrain Twister
9. Lazer Tag Team Ops deluxe
10. Cali Girl Barbie Doll + Horse Giftset
5. Barbie is still top girl across
Europe and the new Fashion
Fever Styling Head was the
second
highest
rank girl product
for the 5-7 year
old.
8. Able to go on water, sand and
mud the Tyco R/C Terrain
Twister is loved by the 8-10
year olds.
6. Mattel’s Hot Wheels AcceleRacers excites kids with its flying
cars that destroy monsters.
9. Kids love to compete with
each other and Hasbro’s
Lazer Tag Team Ops Deluxe
offers them the opportunity to
beat each other.
7. Nikko’s Integra Type R Street
Mayhem Tuner attracts boys as
it makes sounds and accessories can be added.
10. The Barbie and Horse theme
is a real classic and it is expected to be big for Christmas as girls went for it.
5
Duracell Toy Survey Pan-Euro
Leisure
Activities
Playing with toys remains the
number one activity during spare
time for over a quarter of girls and
boys in Europe. 33% of 5-7 year
olds named it as their first preference, whereas this was only 20%
for the 8-10 year old kids. This is
equally proportionate for both
boys and girls.
The strongest is in Spain (39%)
while the weakest is in the
Netherlands (15%).
Playing Outdoor comes in as
their second preference. The
majority of German (31%) and
Dutch (41%) kids have chosen
outdoor as their overall favourite
whilst Italian and Portuguese
children would rather spend their
time indoors playing computer
games or watching TV.
Favourite Spare Time Activity
27%
Toys
21%
Outdoor
16%
PC/Video Games
11%
TV
Sports
Overall playing Computer/video
games is the third favourite spare
time activity, mostly because of boys.
Girls on the other hand tend to
spread their spare time across
various activities ranging from
drawing/painting and reading books
to playing with friends, all rather quiet
past times.
6%
Drawing
4%
Friends
4%
How do Children find out about New Toys?
Television is the No.1 source to find out
about Toys and Games for European children
According to children TV remains the number one
source for getting information about new toys, particularly in Italy, Portugal and Spain where the average lies between 79% and 94%.
Similar to last year’s results, retailers’ shelves also
remain important as do friends, which account for
over a third. In Sweden and the UK friends were
named as the second source of information on new
toys.
Compared to last year the internet has gained in
popularity and accounts on average for 6% in
Europe vs 4% in 2004. Germany and the UK however seem to use this medium more often compared
to other countries. 17% of German kids refer to the
internet for information on new toys, where in the UK
this is already 9%. Internet penetration might be an
explanation for lower results in Southern Europe, as
Italy, Spain and Portugal are still behind the rest of
Europe.
Sources of Info for New Toys
69%
42%
35%
27%
6%
Fro m
televisio n
See them in
the sho ps
Fro m friends
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Fro m the
Internet
6
In all 9 countries a majority of children preferred playing outside. Twothird of children across Europe preferred playing outdoors to indoors
and nearly 60% would like to spend
more time playing outside.
Kids in Germany, the Netherlands
and Italy are the most keen to play
outside with an average of over 70%
whilst the preference of children in
Belgium, Portugal and Spain was
more equally divided between inand outdoor play.
Italian (72%) and Portuguese (74%)
children mentioned that they would
like to play outside more often, but
that they were not allowed.
Overall bad weather was given as
the main reason by kids in Europe
for not playing outdoors more often,
closely followed by not being allowed. Spontaneously children also
mentioned that they didn’t like playing outdoors on their own (2nd reason for not going more often in Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany
and also mentioned in two other
countries). This might be one of the
challenges of the new generations
growing up with less siblings and
overloaded with indoor entertainment.
Reasons for not playing Outdoors
29%
Weather
Not allowed
21%
No safe place
14%
Don’t l ike going
on my own
Homework
Don’t have time
11%
7%
4%
What the parents say...
The majority of parents in Europe encourage their children to play outdoors: 56% say they always
encourage them to play outside, while 37% claims to do it sometimes. Overall only 6% do not encourage
their children to play outdoors, Belgium and France are the biggest contributors here. Parents in these two
countries prevent their kids from playing outside mostly because of danger, maybe with insight these results
are linked to recent high profile paedophile court cases. Portugal, Spain and the UK also score above
average if it comes to dangers, but overall the main reason brought up by parents for not letting their
children play outdoors was the weather (71% in the UK). Sweden, Germany and Italy have the least
concerns.
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer more than 70% answered nearly every day.
German kids were the only ones to hardly play outdoors ever (52%) whereas Swedish and Dutch children
played outside the most. The most common place for kids to play outside was a public place (68%), such as
a public playground, park or football field. A private enclosed place (garden) was also mentioned by more
than 50% of the parents.
7
Children and parents’ Favourite
Retail Destination for
Toys
The children were asked, without
the aid of a list, to name their favourite retail destination for purchasing
toys. The children in our sample declared that Toys R Us was without
doubt their favourite with 21% of the
children indicating that this was their
preferred place to shop. Toys R Us
was in first position in Southern
Europe with Italy 53%, Spain 25%,
Portugal 50% and France 20%. In
the UK Toys R Us lost pole position
and became the number two to
Woolworths. Parents confirmed this
choice with a 26% vote for Toys R
Us versus only 16% last year.
Overall Toys R Us was once again the winner and they are also the only
true international toy retailer.
Favourite Retailers for Toys
21%
Toys R Us
26%
4%
Carrefour
11%
8%
Other Toys
Shops
8%
Children's choice
3%
Woolworths
5%
Parent's choice
When did you start shopping for Christmas?
As per 2004 most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November, whereas a third
waited till December. Belgian, Italian and French parents waited the longest before hitting the shops. Only 5%
of Italian parents started their Christmas shopping before November. The German and the Dutch on the other
hand were the most organized: 34% of German parents and 25% of Dutch started their Christmas shopping in
October, which is far ahead of the overall average.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, most parents admit to have opened their purses in December except for Germany and Holland.
When did you start shopping for
Christmas?
41%
33%
16%
4%
5%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
8
Parental
Shopping
Trends
What do you think your next Christmas present
will be?
57%
5-6 years
Northern and Southern Euro
Parents Show Great Differences
In Europe, a child would receive on average 8.5 toys for Christmas for a total
budget of €107 from his/her parents. At
the bottom of the scale, Belgian parents
spend €62 on average for 5 toys. A child
in the UK on the other hand would receive nearly 15 toys for an average of
€10 per toy (a lower average price than
last year).
Typically children receive on average
more presents for their birthdays (8.7)
than for Christmas (8.5) except for Sweden and the UK. The latter sees the biggest difference with 14.6 toys received for
Christmas versus 11.8 for a birthday.
The majority of parents believe that they
spent exactly what they intended for
Christmas, whereas a fair proportion purchased more. For next year 60% expects
to spend the same amount and nearly a
quarter expects to spend even more than
the year before.
In order to make a decision when purchasing toys for their children, parents
identify three main elements. first they
rely a lot on their child’s opinion and/or
desires (86%), second they want quality
toys (70%) and third the cost of toys
and/or the special offers play an important role (55%).
48%
7-8 years
105
108
9-10 years
62
23%
Kids-Toys
Parents-Toys
Kids-PC/Video
23%
26%
Parents-PC/Video
KGOY or not?
140
80
21%
35%
148 160
103
98
36%
23%
120
100
80
60
40
20
Eu
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Be pe
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a
H ny
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Sp l
Sw ain
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U
K
0
Average amount spend (Euro)
118
107
12%
18%
How m uch did you spend last Christm as, per
child, on Toys & Gam es?
137
47%
As children get more exposed to the big wild world,
they tend to move away from traditional toys in favour of more high tech products such as consumer
electronics or video games to name only two categories. It is interesting to understand at what age
this transition operates and what impact the KGOY
(kids getting older younger) factor has on the parent/
children relationship.
When asked what they would like to receive for their
next Christmas present, most children in all nine
countries responded toys & games first (46%). This
varies by age group as the youngest (5-6) opted for
toys for 57%, 48% for the 7-8 years old and only
35% for the 9-10 years old. On the other hand, their
response towards PC/Video games increased with
age: from 12% for the youngest, to 21% for the 7-8
and 23% for the 9-10 years old.
Parents seemed to be in line with their children
wishes except for the fact that about a quarter of
them haven’t really made their decision yet as to
what they will buy for Christmas – with the exception
of Sweden where 97% of parents have already
made their mind up!
In most countries kids showed an interest towards
more inspirational categories and seem to be supported by their parents, except for Holland where no
parents considered consumer electronics nor
clothes nor phones! At the other end of the scale,
France, UK and Italy were the top countries for PC
and Video Games for the youngest age group 5-6.
9
Belgium Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. SCX The Digital System was the
overall winner in Belgium.
CHILD: You can play with several people, but you are not
bored when you are alone.
CHILD: It’s cool to race against
each other.
2. Nikko’s Integra Type R Street
Mayhem Tuner conquered second
place in the top 10.
OBSERVER: They appreciate
the fact that there is no physical
connection between car and
remote, and that it goes very
fast.
3. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo, which
scored high amongst the girls was the
number 3.
CHILD: They stick for a long
time and I like myself then.
4. Another product biased towards girls,
Fur Real Friends Luv Cubs came in
fourth.
CHILD: It gives
kisses and hugs
and moves
1. SCX The Digital System
3. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo
4. Fur Real Friends Luv Cubs
5. Lazer Tag Team Ops deluxe
7. Fashion Fever Styling Head
8. Dragon Mountain
9. Fiction Meteor
10. Disney Princess Deluxe Play Set
5. Fifth was Hasbro’s Lazer Tag
Team Ops Deluxe, which did
well with boys in both age
groups.
CHILD: It’s fun the way you
can play with it; you can
pretend you are in a movie.
8. D r a g o n M o u n t a i n w a s
enjoyed most by the younger
boys.
CHILD: You have to build it
and there are a lot of mysterious things.
9. Number 9 was
Fiction Meteor.
Smoby’s
ended up in sixth position.
CHILD: It’s cool because it
goes quick.
CHILD: Very fast and a
solid car.
10. The top 10 was closed by
7. Mattel’s Fashion Fever Styling
Head was seventh.
OBSERVER:
They play with it
for a long time
Disney Princess Deluxe Play
Set.
OBSERVER: A lot of fascinated girls, they wear
the crown and the jewellery and they show off to
each other.
10
Duracell Toy Survey Belgium
Leisure
Activities
Over a third of kids in Belgium
have declared playing with toys as
their favourite spare time activity,
which was ahead of the European
average (27%). 46% of 5-7 year
olds named toys as their first preference versus 26% for the 8-10
year olds. The split was equally
proportionate for boys and girls as
36% of them selected toys and
games.
Outdoor and TV were mentioned
by 16% of the children as their
favourite leisure time activity.
Compared to the average in
Europe, Belgian kids spend less
time outdoors and more time in
front of the TV. Playing outdoors
was far more favoured by girls
(27%) than by boys (18%), while
18% of boys vs only 13% of girls
35%
Toys
Outdoor
16%
TV
16%
preferred watching TV.
Computer and Video games were
mostly chosen by boys, but overall
slightly less popular in Belgium, Germany and Sweden than in the rest of
Europe.
Girls were very much in line with
their counterparts in Europe, as they
also spread their spare time across
activities, such as drawing, crafts
and playing with friends.
12%
PC/Video Games
7%
Drawing
Sports
3%
Reading
3%
Television is the No. 1 source to find out about
Toys and Games for Belgian children
source for getting information about new toys; 58%
of them trust TV to get information on new toys,
which was equal to last year, but lower than the
overall European average (69%).
Whereas in 2004 more than half of Belgian children
relied on shops to get information on new toys and
games, this year it’s only a third, similar to the reliance on magazines and/or catalogues.
In line with their European counterparts, Belgian children seemed to have used the Internet on more occasions compared to 2004, when this medium accounted for only 1%.
58%
33%
31%
24%
6%
Fro m
televisio n
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
See them in
the sho ps
Fro m friends
Internet
11
Compared to the rest of Europe
only 51% of Belgian children preferred to play outdoors versus an
average of 66%.
Nearly half of them would like to
spend more time outside, but in
32% of the cases, they were either
not allowed or there was no safe
place around. These numbers are
very high compared to the rest of
Europe where ‘not being allowed’
only scored 21% and ‘no safe
place’ only 14%. Only Portugal and
Spain scored higher in ‘not being
allowed’ (39% and 54% respectively).
Bad weather, which was the number 1 reason across Europe came
only in third place with 21%.
No safe place
32%
Not allowed
32%
Weather
Don’t l ike going
on my own
21%
6%
No one to play
with
3%
Parents don’t
have time
3%
Belgian parents are the most reluctant to encourage their kids to play outdoors. 28% prefer their kids to play
inside versus an European average of 6%. The main reason for not letting their kids play outdoors more
often was danger (accidents/strangers). 77% of Belgian parents named this as the main reason, which gave
them the highest score amongst the European countries followed by the UK with 59%.
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer 54% mentioned nearly every day. Compared to
the rest of Europe, however, this is far below average (70%). Only German children spend less time playing
outdoors (37% nearly every day), whereas the Swedish spend the most time outside (96%). The most
common place for Belgian children to play outside is a public place (84%). Private enclosed places come
second with 35%.
12
Retail Destination
for Toys
toys. The children in our sample declared that Blokker was without
doubt their favourite. Dreamland/Droomland was the second
favourite for both children and parents. For parents the practicalities of
toys shopping as well as their perception of good prices have played
an important part here. Maxitoys,
which was given 13% of the parents’
votes last year only scored 9% this
year.
25%
Blokker
Dreamland
Carrefour
Maxitoys
20%
9%
15%
7%
10%
7%
9%
Children's choice
Parent's choice
Last year 77% of Belgian parents started their Christmas shopping in the last two months of the year. This
year this number has increased to 85%, which is higher than the overall average in Europe (74%). Together
with Italy, France and Spain they waited the longest before hitting the shops whereas in Germany and Holland
parents were relatively early with their Christmas shopping.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, Belgian parents admit to having opened their purses in
December, which is similar to the rest of Europe. Again Germany and Holland were the main exception here,
as they had already bought their main present in November.
Christmas?
65%
20%
3%
Aug
1%
Sep
6%
Oct
Nov
Dec
13
will be?
Parental
Shopping
Trends
43%
5-6 years
7%
Belgian parents spend the least
on toys and games for Christmas
53%
Parents-Toys
20%
9-10 years
21%
4%
Kids-PC/Video
ParentsPC/Video
In order to make a decision when purchasing toys for their children,
Belgian parents identify three main elements. First they rely a lot on
their child’s opinion and/or desires (67%), second they want quality
toys (56%) and third the cost of toys and/or the special offers play
an important part (49%). Compared to the rest of Europe their order
of preference was similar, yet the average importance attached to
each aspect was lower. Belgian parents rely on average more on
the opinion of other parents and friends and also the internet is consulted more often (10%) than in the rest of Europe.
KGOY or not?
Compared to the rest of Europe 43% of 5-6 year
olds in Belgium would like to get toys as their next
Christmas present, whereas nobody in this age
group voted for PC/Video games. 7% of parents,
however, think that their next Christmas present
might very well be a PC or video game, which is
quite below the European average of 18%.
140
118
103
80
62
120
100
80
60
40
20
Eu
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Be pe
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Fr m
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148 160
98
Kids-Toys
46%
137
108
10%
17%
How much did you spend last Christmas,
per child, on Toys & Games?
105
17%
7-8 years
In Belgium a child would receive on
average 5.4 toys for Christmas for a total
budget of €62. This is lower than the
European average which indicates that a
child receives 8.5 toys for a total amount
of €107. Over half of the Belgian parents
spend in between €1 and €60 for a
Christmas present, whereas in Spain for
example three quarters said they did
spend more than €150.
Similar to the rest of Europe Belgian children receive on average more presents
for their birthday than for Christmas (7.4
vs 5.4), but again remain below the total
European average.
The majority of parents (61%) in Belgium
believe that they spent exactly what they
intended for Christmas, whereas 28%
spend more. For this year nearly half expects to spend the same amount and a
third expects to spend even more than
the year before.
107
36%
There seems to be some disconnect in between
parents and children in Belgium as toys feature in
first position for children of all age groups with a
strong majority, but much lower for parents of kids
aged seven or plus. This might be due to the fact
that half of them have not decided what they will
buy as yet, especially for the transitional age group
of 7-8 years old.
Belgian children voted in mass for bikes (10%), the
second highest percentage across all countries,
just behind the UK with 11%. This might be related
to their desire to spend more time outdoors.
14
FranceTop 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. SCX The Digital System is the winner
in France this year.
CHILD: I like speed and the cars
because they are powerful.
OBSERVER:The toy had a high
amount of appeal and provided
much amusement and interest.
2. Fiction Meteor
4. Tamagotchi Connexion
6. V-Smile Pocket
9. Dragon Mountain
2. Fiction Meteor was the second and
favoured by the older boys and girls.
CHILD: When I press the car it
goes in all directions.
5. Mattel’s Tyco R/C Terrain
Twister, a boy’s favourite,
ended up in fifth position.
CHILD: We brush its hair; we
make it beautiful.
CHILD: It follows the laser and in
the night we can put a light
3. The number one for girls, Fur Real
Friend Luv Cubs came in third.
OBSERVER:It was impressive
to see the smiles that appeared
on the children’s faces when
they got hold of the cuddly bear.
4. Bandai’s Tamagotchi Connextion was
fourth
CHILD: It’s like a
real baby.
8. A favourite amongst the girls
was the Fashion Fever
Styling Head from Mattel.
6. V-Smile Pocket did well and
scored high with the older kids.
9. Dragon
ninth.
Mountain
ranked
OBSERVER: Both the girls
and the boys spotted the toy
and wanted to play with it,
and they all had a lot of fun
with it.
came in seventh.
CHILD: You can
give it ice cream
and round biscuits.
10. Cali Girl Barbie Doll + Horse
Giftset closed the French top
10.
CHILD: I like Barbies and
especially the horses.
15
Duracell Toy Survey France
Leisure
Activities
time for over a quarter of girls and
boys in France too. This shows
however a discrepancy in between
boys and girls. Boys’ favourite
past time is actually Playing Outdoors for 33%, followed by Toys
with 28% while toys took 26% of
girls votes, but were top favourite.
The popularity of Outdoor play
seem much higher in France this
year than in 2004. This is mainly
driven by boys who increased
from 9% to 33% and might be
driven to some extent by the
increasing debates over child
obesity and the competition to
host the Olympic games which
was a hot media topic during the
fieldwork. Video Games also
increased drastically from 12%
to 24% since last year. This
27%
Toys
25%
Outdoor
16%
PC/Video Games
Homework
5%
TV
4%
Drawing
4%
Outings
4%
is being backed up by NPD Eurotoys
Consumer Panel data, which illustrates that Video Games now represent 30% of the total Toy market
(video and traditional toys) and is
fairing better to some extent than
traditional toys.
The French toy market is the second
biggest in Europe with a turnover
over 2.5 billion euros and the strong
answers from the children in favour
of toys is in itself an explanation of its
size. Outdoor toy sales are also particularly strong in France with over
12% of the traditional toy market.
Television is the No.1 source to find out about
Toys and Games for French children
French children do not differ from their European
counterparts and television is their main source of
information when it comes to finding out about new
toys and games. 68% declare this is their first point
of call, still much lower than the rest of Southern
Europe like Italy, Portugal and Spain where the average lies between 79% and 94%.
Shops are second with 45% and Toys R Us certainly
plays an important part in these results, but so do
hypermarkets. The grocery sector is far advanced in
France in terms of Non-Food offering and Auchan,
Carrefour and Leclerc along with the other grocers
represent as much as toy specialists altogether. As
an illustration, children’s answers about their favourite toy shopping destinations shows their awareness
of the grocers range as they get the opportunity, often on a weekly basis to go along with mum to do
the weekly shopping.
68%
45%
18%
17%
11%
Fro m
televisio n
See them in
the sho ps
Fro m friends
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Family
16
They want more!
In France too, 68% of children declare they prefer playing outdoors
than indoors. Overall according to
parents, 73% of their children play
outside everyday in the summer
already and 9% play outdoors
about three times a week. 57% of
the children interrogated would
however like to spend more time
playing outdoors, as per the results
of the rest of Europe.
So, why are they not spending
more time outside?
Children from Paris and Lille, both
rather in the north of the country,
answer that the main reason is the
weather or the darkness surprisingly.
What is interesting is that children
spontaneously responded they
don’t have time and the second
biggest reason is the list of chores
and routines which includes homework, bath and dinner time (19%
overall). As we know kids are
more and more encouraged to take
part in extra-curriculum activities
and it is interesting that they seem
to feel the pressure of a busy
schedule already in their early
years.
46%
Weather
Wash/Dinner/School
No safe place
14%
9%
Don’t l ike going on
my own
5%
No time
5%
Cannot go alone
2%
82% of French parents encourage their children to play outside (35% always and 47% sometimes).
However it is puzzling to see that 18% do not encourage their kids at all. This is the only other country apart
from Belgium with a strong negative attitude towards outdoor play. The main reason for this is the fear of
danger, strangers and accidents for 57% of parents. The second main factor is the darkness and the
weather in geneal which is consistent with the children’s answers.
Only 14% of French parents see no restriction at all to letting their little blond heads play outside. This might
be linked to the fact that two third of french children interviewed are actually playing in a safe, enclosed
area—the highest answer for all of Europe and over 60% play in an enclosed safe place such as a public
square. French children rarely play in the street (only 14% of parents interviewed) as opposed to the
Netherlands where it seems to be the norm and about 60% of children play in the street.
17
Retail Destination
for Toys
Toys R Us ended up in pole position
this year again in France with both
parents and children as for Europe
overall. Auchan’s second position
reinforces French parents’ feedback
putting choice, proximity and special
offers/ promotions at the top of their
list for toy shopping. The hypermarket chain is notorious for its depth of
range and has become over the
years a clear destination for a number of non food categories. La
Grande Récré, in fourth position, is
France’s biggest national chain with
over 85 stores all over the country.
Overall Toys R Us was once again the winner and they are also the only
true international toy retailer.
20%
Toys R Us
32%
13%
Auchan
Carrefour
La Grande Recre
26%
8%
10%
Children's choice
6%
9%
Parent's choice
As per 2004 most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. In France one parent out of two starts shopping for Christmas in November after most catalogues have been distributed in everyone’s letter box. 15% start before November and a third wait for December. Once again, this is not dissimilar to the rest of Europe and is interesting to put in parallel to NPD Eurotoys Retail Tracking data which shows
that 22% of annual toy sales occur in November against 34% in December.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, 41% of parents admit to have packed it away in November versus 46% in December. This is fairly balanced in contradiction to Spain and Italy where December plays
a most important part and the average price of toys is much higher in December as parents tend to leave
things up to the last minute.
Christmas?
50%
35%
10%
3%
Aug
2%
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
18
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
52%
45%
5-6 years
French parents buy less toys than
their European counterparts
budget of €107 from his/her parents.
French parents are less generous compared with their neighbours and children
receive in average 7 toys for Christmas
and 7.1 for a birthday. That said French
parents seem to privilege more expensive toys as the average price spent for
Christmas is the third highest price (€15)
behind Germany and Italy and in line with
Spain. At the other end of the scale, British children receive nearly 15 toys for
Christmas at a lower average price of
€10.13 and 11.8 toys for their birthdays,
also the highest score in the nine countries.
In France, parents attach much importance to quality and durability (46% judging this the most important criteria of
choice), followed by educational value
(31%) and value for money (24%).
These criteria were the same in 2004
except educational value was then in top
position.
48%
105
108
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
80
62
Kids-PC/Video
19%
22%
38%
ParentsPC/Video
48% of French parents admit that the child’s request is paramount
to their decision (48%), followed by quality of build for 22% and the
cost for 14%. Children’s requests are actually the main reason for
purchase across all countries with an average of about 50% except
for Belgium for which the score was only 29%.
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
Kids-Toys
25%
120
100
80
60
40
20
107
24%
17%
148 160
118
45%
7-8 years
137
26%
26%
Eu
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Be pe
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Fr m
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45% of children interviewed aged in between 5 and
10 years old would like to receive a toy or a game
this coming Christmas. It is one out of two 5-8 year
old, one of the highest scores across Europe. The
9-10 year old are more indecisive with only one out
of four thinking of a game so far, while 38% of their
parents are thinking about PC or video games (twice
as big as toys!).
French kids are strongly attracted to toys and PC/
Video games. Only a few responded in favour of
clothes, mobile phones or consumer electronics
(music players, dvd’s etc...); on the other hand bikes
ranked third.
The age of transition out of the toy market seems to
be around 8 years old where other activities and
inspirations appear on the Christmas wish list.
19
Italy Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. Also in Italy SCX The Digital System
came in first.
CHILD: It’s a competitive game
and I can play it with my friends.
OBSERVER:It was the most
appreciated toy, independently
by the age.
2. HW AcceleRacers Swamp Beast Set
3. Barbie B-Book
5. Geomag Panels
8. Robosapien
2. Hot Wheels AcceleRacers Swamp
Beast Set came in second.
CHILD: The car has to run and
destroy the monster.
5. Giochi Preziosi’s Geomag
Panels were very much
favoured by the girls.
8.
Boys liked Robosapien,
which ranked 8th.
CHILD: It’s nice to play with cars
3. Barbie B-Book ranked third and did
well with both age groups.
OBSERVER:It is fun because
it gives the opportunity to create several forms with it and
children feel free to realize
shapes according to their
inventiveness.
6. Another girls’ favourite, Fur
Real Friend Luv Cubs came in
sixth.
did well with the boys and ended up in
fourth position.
CHILD: I love
electric toys that
go fast.
CHILD: It’s able to do
things that other can’t do.
9. Cali Girl Barbie Doll + Horse
Giftset was ninth.
CHILD: It’s nice and likeable
7. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo was
seventh.
CHILD: I can realize tattoos
that don't hurt.
CHILD: Barbie is my favourite
toy.
10. Finally Mattel’s Tyco R/C
Terrain Twister was tenth.
20
Duracell Toy Survey Italy
Leisure
Activities
Over a third of kids in Italy have
declared playing with toys as their
favourite spare time activity, which
was ahead of the European average (27%). 45% of 5-7 year olds
named toys as their number 1 versus 28% for the 8-10 year olds.
The split is disproportionate for
girls (46%) while boys would place
it second on their list (26%).
The boys’ favourite was computer and video games (38%),
which came in second with 27%,
higher than the overall average
in Europe.
Outdoor, which was the second
favourite spare time activity for
kids in Europe (21%) only scored
10% in Italy equal to TV.
Italian girls also preferred to spread
their leisure time amongst various
activities and ballet, playing with
friends and drawing/painting scored
highest.
36%
Toys
27%
PC/Video Games
TV
10%
Outdoor
10%
Friends
4%
Sports
3%
Drawing
3%
Toys and Games for Italian children
source for getting information about new toys (79%),
which was slightly lower than last year (88%), but
higher than the overall European average (69%).
Over half of Italian children source information on
new toys in shops, which is higher than in 2004.
Friends come in third with 42% compared to 35%
across Europe.
Similar to last year only 7% sees new toys in magazines and/or catalogues and the internet is also
hardly ever used compared to Northern Europe
(Germany 17%, UK 9%).
79%
51%
42%
7%
1%
Fro m
televisio n
See them in
the sho ps
Fro m friends
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Internet
21
72% of Italian children preferred to
play outdoors versus an average of
66%.
Nearly three quarters of them
would like to spend more time outside, but in 25% of the cases, they
were not allowed. Portugal and
Spain where the other countries
where children gave this as the
main reason for not playing outdoors more often.
Weather also scored relatively high
in Italy, but slightly lower than the
overall average (29%).
The lack of a safe place was noted
down by 1 in 10 Italian children
followed by homework at 7%
where they scored slightly higher
than their European counterparts.
Only 7% said not to like going on
their own compared to an average
of 11% in Europe.
25%
Not allowed
Weather
23%
No safe place
11%
9%
Howework
Don't like going
on my own
No Time
7%
3%
Most Italian parents encourage their kids to play outdoors. 73% says to always encourage their kids to play
outside and a quarter implies to do so sometimes. The main reason for Italian parents to prevent their kids
from playing outdoors in the summer was the weather (38%) followed by danger (18%). Together with
Swedish parents Italians were the least concerned about danger. They were also the second in line after the
Swedish to say to have no restrictions at all (37%).
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer 69% mentioned nearly every day and 20% said
about three times a week. This is very much in line with the rest of Europe. The most common place for kids
to play outside is a private enclosed place (56%) followed closely by a public place (53%). Compared to
other European countries Italian children hardly play on the street.
22
Retail Destination
for Toys
Supermarkets came in third, mostly because parents take into account
shopping practicalities such as proximity and their perception of good
prices.
toys. The children in our sample declared that Toys Center without
doubt their favourite with 53%. With
59% parents were in line with their
kids.
Other Toys Shops were named second by both parties, as children select their closest toy shop, a place
where they can easily go and have a
look at new toys.
53%
Toys Center
59%
34%
Other Toy Shops
20%
6%
Supermarket
Other
17%
1%
Children's choice
2%
Parent's choice
As per 2004 most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. Over half of Italian
parents did the same compared to only 35% in the previous year. Last year nearly 50% waited till December,
but this number has come down to 41% in 2005. Only 6% started their shopping spree before November,
which compared to the rest of Europe was very low (25%).
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, 38% of parents admit to have packed it away in November versus 56% in December, making Italy the third country after Belgium and Sweden to wait so long for the
main present.
Christmas?
53%
41%
1%
Aug
Sep
5%
Oct
Nov
Dec
23
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
78%
Italian parents spend on average the
highest amount per toy in Europe
budget of €107 from his/her parents. Italian parents are less generous compared
to their neighbours and children receive
on average 6.3 toys for Christmas and
6.5 for a birthday. That said Italian parents seem to privilege more expensive
toys as the average price spent for
Christmas is the highest (€18.70). At the
other end of the scale, British children
receive nearly 15 toys for Christmas at a
lower average price of €10.13 and 11.8
toys for their birthdays, also the highest
score in the nine countries.
In Italy parents attach much importance
to educational value (51%), followed by
value for money (12%) and long-term
amusement value (8%).
In order to make a decision when purchasing toys for their children, 59% of
Italian parents admit that the child’s request is paramount to their decision, followed by quality of build and cost, both
for 8%.
5-6 years
48%
7-8 years
105
108
80
62
Kids-Toys
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
Kids-PC/Video
22%
34%
28%
ParentsPC/Video
Children’s requests are actually the main reason for purchase
across all countries with an average of about 50% except for Belgium for which the score was only 29%.
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
38%
34%
120
100
80
60
40
20
107
23%
33%
148 160
118
7%
37%
137
41%
Eu
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Be pe
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78% of Italian 5-6 year olds think they will get a toy
or a game as a present for next Christmas.
Together with their Spanish counterparts (76%) this
gives them the highest in Europe. Over a third of
parents of these youngsters however, think their
next present will be a PC/Video game. These
results seem to indicate that parents are keen for
their youngests to get PC/Video games even at a
young age.
The 7-8 year olds in Italy still prefer toys over
PC/Video games, whereas their parents are more
in favour of the latter. The same goes for the 9-10
year olds, as 28% of parents think their next
present will be a PC/Video game compared to 22%
thinking it will be a toy or a game.
Overall Italian kids and parents in the 7-8 and 9-10
year old age group score on average higher than
their European counterparts when it comes to
PC/Video games. On the other hand, consumer
electronics overall got a rather poor score in Italy
but phones ranked quite high for the older age
group with 16% of votes – the highest only behind
Portugal.
24
Germany Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. The number one in Germany: SCX
The Digital System from Tecnitoys.
CHILD: Thrilling, super cool!
CHILD: Exciting; can organise
races; has got a counting display.
5. V-Smile Pocket
6. LEGO Racers Ferrari Scuderia Truck
10. Mandela Designer Drawing Machine
2. Fashion Fever Styling Head was
second.
5. V-Smile Pocket ranked fifth.
OBSERVER: Received
high amount of attention.
a
CHILD: It teaches me mathematics and writing.
8. Tyco R/C Terrain Twister was
eigth in Germany.
CHILD: Can play it on grass,
water, sand and even in mud.
came in third.
6. LEGO Racers Ferrari Scuderia
Truck did well in Germany and
ended up in 6th position.
9. Girls liked Mattel’s Cali Girl
Barbie Doll + Horse Giftset.
CHILD: Easy to handle; looks
nice; can use it outside.
4. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo favoured
mostly by the girls ended up fourth.
OBSERVER: They want to
combine it with other Lego
parts they have at home.
7. A boys’ favourite Hot Wheels
AcceleRacers Swamp Beast
Set was seventh.
CHILD: It’s absolutely new,
have never seen it before.
10. Ravensburger
with their
Mandela Designer Drawing
Machine ended up tenth.
CHILD: Can paint wonderful
pictures and ornaments; want
to stick it on the wall.
25
Duracell Toy Survey Germany
Leisure
Activities
Nearly a third of kids in Germany
have declared outdoor as their
favourite spare time activity, which
was ahead of the European average (21%). Playing with toys came
in second as 22% of the 5-7 year
olds and 18% of the 8-10 year
olds chose this as their favourite
leisure time activity.
The split was slightly disproportionate for boys as a quarter of
them selected toys and games
versus 16% for girls.
where PC/Video games were the
third preference with 16%, in
Germany this activity only came
fourth. Similar to other countries,
boys favoured PC/Video games
over girls.
Sports were third in Germany (13%),
the highest score with the UK, clearly
boosted by boys 20% versus girls
6%.
31%
Outdoor
20%
Toys
13%
Sports
PC/Video Games
TV
Ballet
Reading
8%
7%
5%
4%
Toys and Games for German children
According to children TV is the number one source
for getting information about new toys; 63% of them
trust TV to get information on new toys, which is
higher than last year (47%) but very much in line
with the rest of Europe.
Whereas in 2004 only 18% of German children relied on magazines to get information on new toys
and games, this year it’s a staggering 49% and more
in line with the reliance on shops and friends.
Compared to their European counterparts German
kids rely the most on the internet. Whereas last year
only 3% of children said to source the internet for
new toys this year this number has increased to
17%. UK is the second country to heavily rely on the
internet (9%). The European average lies at 6%.
63%
53%
49%
47%
17%
Fro m
televisio n
See them in
the sho ps
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Fro m friends
Internet
26
84% of German kids declare they
prefer playing outdoor to indoors
making them the biggest group in
Europe (the average being 66%).
A minority (46%) of children would
like to spend more time outside,
but the weather is keeping them
from doing this. 49% gave this as
the main reason for not playing
outside more often compared to
29% across Europe.
Similar to their Dutch and Swedish
peers they spontaneously mentioned that they don't like playing
outdoors on their own. 16% of German kids gave this as their main
reason putting them third behind
Sweden and Spain)
Only 13% of German children said
not to be allowed to play outside,
which is lower than the European
average of 21%.
49%
Weather
Don’t like going
on my own
16%
Not allowed
No safe place
13%
9%
Howework
4%
No time
2%
German parents together with the Swedish ones encourage their kids the most to play outdoors. 76% says
always to encourage their kids to play outside and 23% declared to do this sometimes. These numbers are
perhaps not too surprising considering the fact that 52% of German parents mention that their kids hardly
ever play outdoors. Compared to the rest of Europe where 70% of the kids play outside nearly every day in
Germany this is only 37%.
Asked what prevents them from letting their children play outside more often half of the German parents
mentioned the weather. Their second reason was danger, strangers and accidents for 29%. 35% said to
have no restrictions at all, which is higher than the European average of 22%. According to their parents
German children play mostly in public playgrounds (72%) followed by a private enclosed place (58%).
27
Retail Destination
for Toys
not surprising. What is surprising however is that parents named Karstadt/Kaufhof as their favourite shop, a change from 2004 when Toys R
Us registered 38% of their votes.
toys. The children in our sample declared that Toys Shops were their
favourite when it came to purchasing toys with 25%. It is very likely
children had their closest shop in
mind when answering their question;
a place where they can easily go
and look at toys.
Toys R Us came second with 22%
of the children's’ vote. Overall toy
shops represent about 40% of the
German market (source: NPD Consumer Panel) and these results are
18%
Karstadt/Kaufhof
35%
25%
Other Toy Shops
30%
22%
Toys R Us
Vedes
28%
3%
4%
Children's choice
Parent's choice
As per 2004, most German parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November and a third even already started in October. Only 15% waited till December compared to a quarter last year. Looking at the rest
of Europe where 74% of the parents holds of their Christmas shopping till November/December, German and
Dutch parents are much more organized. The reason Dutch parents start shopping early is due to the majority
of them giving their children presents for “Sinterklaas”/Saint Nicholas rather than for Christmas.
As for the timing of the purchase of the main present, German parents admit having opened their purses in
November, which is also earlier in comparison to the rest of Europe, except for the Netherlands.
Christmas?
41%
34%
15%
3%
7%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
28
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
55%
5-6 years
German parents buy less toys than
their European counterparts
budget of €107 from his/her parents. German parents are less generous compared with their neighbours and children
receive on average 6 toys for Christmas
and 7.2 for a birthday. That said German
parents seem to privilege more expensive toys as the average price spent for
Christmas is second highest price (€18)
behind Italy. Overall 59% of parents
spent over €100 for Christmas 2004. At
the other end of the scale. British children
receive nearly 15 toys for Christmas at a
lower average price of €10.13 and 11.8
toys for their birthdays, also the highest
score in the nine countries.
In Germany, parents attach much importance to long-term amusement value and
value for money (44% judging this these
the most important criteria of choice),
followed by quality/durability (34%) and
educational value (24%).
39%
7-8 years
105
108
80
62
Kids-Toys
Parents-Toys
38%
9-10 years
26%
12%
Kids-PC/Video
ParentsPC/Video
56% of German parents admit that the child’s request is paramount
to their decision, followed by quality of build (38%) and the cost for
the toy (25%). Children’s requests are actually the main reason for
purchase across all countries with an average of about 50% except
for Belgium for which the score was only 29%.
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
13%
18%
120
100
80
60
40
20
107
58%
16%
148 160
118
9%
6%
137
48%
Eu
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Be pe
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German children give us evidence of the KGOY
factor by looking at their responses to their Christmas wish list. Well within the average for the 5-6
years old (57%), they fall much behind for the older
age groups with only four of ten 7-8 years old wanting toys and two out of ten for the 9-10. There is a
disconnect in between parents for the 7 years and
older as parents still place toys as number one.
German children are into everything and from the
age of seven, they dream about clothes, mobile
phones and diverse consumer gadgets while their
younger siblings favour bikes and scooters if they
don’t request toys.
Parents, a little bit more pragmatic, don’t say no to
those much sought after gadgets but through all
age groups also mention clothes, maybe another
sign that things are tough in Germany in 2005.
29
Holland Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
favourite amongst the Dutch kids.
CHILD: It’s fast and easily overshoots, makes you laugh.
CHILD: Can play with three players and it’s fast.
2. The top product amongst the girls, Air
Crush Air Brush Tattoo came in
second.
OBSERVER:
children were
proud
to
show
the
colored pictures on their
arm to their
parents.
7. Dragon Mountain
8. V-Smile Pocket
9. Mandala Designer Drawing Machine
5. Fur Real Friend Luv Cubs
scored high amongst the girls.
CHILD: It makes a noise and
its very soft.
6. Mattel’s Tyco R/C
Twister was sixth.
Terrain
9. Mandala Designer Drawing
Machine was ninth.
3. Hot Wheels AcceleRacers Swamp
Beast Set was third and did well with
both age groups.
CHILD: The cars can destroy the
monster and they fly through the
air.
8. V-Smile Pocket was the eight
overall favourite in Holland.
CHILD: You can create
things and colour them.
7. Dragon Mountain ended up in
seventh position.
OBSERVER:Children who
like drawing can spend
hours with this toy.
closed the top 10.
ranked fourth.
CHILD: You’ve got dragons and
trolls and you can let them fight
against each other.
OBSERVER:
Girls love it
without any
exception
30
Duracell Toy Survey Holland
Leisure
Activities
41% of kids in Holland have declared outdoor as their favourite
spare time activity, which was
quite ahead of the European average (21%). 41% of girls answered
outdoor as their favourite activity.
There seems to be a very different
approach to playing outside in
Holland as opposed to the rest of
Europe; a lot more kids seem to
be playing in the streets.
Playing with toys, which was the
overall number one in Europe
only came in third with 15% with
only 9% of Dutch girls’ vote.
Computer and video games
were the second most favourite
leisure time activity, mostly because of boys. 18% of Dutch
children declared this their first
preference, which is very much
in line with the rest of Europe (16%).
TV was named in 8% of the cases,
which is in line with last year (9%) as
well as the rest of Europe.
41%
Outdoor
18%
PC/Video Games
15%
Toys
8%
TV
Drawing
Craft Activity
Sports
6%
4%
1%
Toys and Games for Dutch children
trust TV to get information on new toys, which is
slightly lower than last year (61%) and also lower
than the rest of Europe (69%).
Whereas in 2004 only 28% of Dutch children relied
on magazines to get information on new toys and
games, this year it’s 40% and more in line with the
reliance on shops.
The internet is consulted in 4% of the cases, which
is slightly lower than the European average (6%),
but higher than in Southern Europe, still behind with
internet penetration.
54%
40%
18%
4%
Fro m
televisio n
37%
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
See them in
the sho ps
Fro m friends
Internet
31
71% of Dutch kids declare they
prefer playing outdoors to indoors,
making them the third biggest
group in Europe after Germany
(84%) and Italy (72%). The majority (70%) of children would like to
spend even more time outside, but
the bad weather and/or darkness is
keeping them from doing this. 41%
gave this as the main reason for
not playing outside more often
compared to 29% across Europe.
Similar to their German and Swedish peers they spontaneously mentioned that they don't like playing
outdoors on their own and this is a
clear barrier as to why they don't
go outside more often.
Time limitations and busy schedules were also some of the reasons Dutch kids brought up when
asked why they don't play outside
more often.
Only 2% of Dutch children said not
to be allowed to play outside,
which is far below the European
average of 21%.
41%
Weather
Don’t like going
on my own
11%
No time
3%
Homework
3%
No one to play
with
3%
Not allowed
2%
Dutch parents always encourage their kids to play outdoors (61% always and 39% sometimes). None of
them does not encourage their children to play outside. Parents agree with their children in saying that the
weather is the main reason for not letting them play outdoors. Accidents and strangers are their second
concern, though with 40% they are slightly below the European average (43%) and certainly below their
Belgian neighbours (77%)..
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer 88% mentioned nearly every day. Compared to
the rest of Europe this is way above the average (70%). The most common place for Dutch children to play
outside is a public place (69%). Compared to their European counterparts a remarkable 65% of the Dutch
also mentioned the street. This is far above the European average, which is only 23%, and really seems to
be unique in Europe.
32
Retail Destination
for Toys
Consumer Panel as the number 1 retailer in the Netherlands. Toys R Us
was the number 3 with 19% of the parents’ vote, as this shop is generally located more around the edges of a city and hence easier reachable
by car.
toys. The children in our sample declared that Bart Smit was without
doubt their favourite with 37%. Located in the centre of most cities the
majority of kids cannot refrain from
popping into this shop when shopping with their parents.
Intertoys followed closely with a third
of the parents’ vote and a quarter of
the children’s. Similar to Bart Smit
Intertoys is also a true toy shop,
which arose from NPD’s
24%
Intertoys
33%
37%
Bart Smit
20%
11%
Toys R Us
Other
19%
10%
7%
Children's choice
Parent's choice
As per 2004 most Dutch parents started their Christmas shopping in October and November, whereas only
13% waited till December. Looking at the rest of Europe where 74% of the parents holds of their Christmas
shopping till November/December, Dutch and German parents are much more organized. The reason Dutch
parents start shopping early is due to the majority of them giving their children presents for “Sinterklaas”/Saint
Nicholas rather than for Christmas.
As for the timing of the purchase of the main present, Dutch parents admit having opened their purses in November, which is also earlier in comparison to the rest of Europe, but in line with the Germans.
Christmas?
39%
25%
15%
13%
8%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
33
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
55%
59%
5-6 years
Dutch parents spend less on toys than
their European counterparts, but receive on average more pieces
17%
40%
Dutch parents are slightly more generous
than their European counterparts and
kids receive on average 9.1 toys for
Christmas and 10.2 for a birthday. That
said Dutch parents spend on average
less money on a toy (€10.70) putting
them in line with the British. British kids
however, do receive the most toys compared to their European counterparts
(14.6 for Christmas and 11.8 for a birthday. Portuguese and Swedish parents
spent the least.
In the Netherlands, parents attach much
importance to value for money (24%),
hence maybe the lower average price
and long-term amusement value (21%),
followed by quality of build/durability
(16%) and educational value (15%).
7-8 years
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
105
108
80
62
Kids-PC/Video
34%
ParentsPC/Video
48% of Dutch parents admit that the child’s request is paramount to
their decision, followed by cost of the toy (19%) and quality of build
(16%) Children’s requests are actually the main reason for purchase across all countries with an average of about 50% except for
Belgium for which the score was only 29%.
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
34%
34%
Dutch kids are slowly moving away from toys as
they get older. Six out of ten 5-6 years old wish to
get a toy or game for his/her next Christmas present, in line with the European average. However
only four out of ten for the 7-8 and one out of 3 for
the oldest preferred toys to any other category.
120
100
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60
40
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Kids-Toys
29%
148 160
137
13%
27%
How much did you spend last Christmas, per
child, on Toys & Games?
118
40%
Moreover, Dutch children seem to show only very
little interest for the much-discussed consumer
electronics categories with no mention of DVD
players nor phones up to the age of 10! Their parents seem quite keen to buy PC and video games
and even though a quarter of them have not decided yet what to buy for next Christmas, they have
not mentioned any of the aspirational categories
either. Are the Dutch more conservative or given
their low average spend are these categories too
pricy?
34
Portugal Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
overall winner in Portugal.
CHILD: It looks like a real track.
CHILD: It’s cool driving the cars.
I won every time.
2. Nitro Battler 2
4. Dragon Mountain
7. Geomag Panels
9. Jaggets Minimodel Party
10. Barbie B-Book
2. Radica’s Nitro Battler 2 was second.
came in fifth.
CHILD: It’ great because you are
still happy whether you win or
lose.
3. Fur Real Friend Luv Cubs were the
girls’ favourite and ranked third
overall.
OBSERVER: association with
irreverence “being forbidden to
do it by their parents”, making
them feel “grown up” and
“bold”.
ranked sixth.
OBSERVER: They are seen as
“lovely” “cute” pets with a
strong emotional involvement.
4. Mega Blok’s Dragon Mountain was
fourth and did well with both younger
and older boys.
OBSERVER: The most appealing features are the accessories
and extras of the mountain, especially the two dragons, which
encourages creativity and imagination.
8. Hot Wheels AcceleRacers
Swamp Beast Set were eight.
7. Geomag Panels ended up
seventh. The brand continues to
grow quickly across Europe.
CHILD: I had seen one with
magnets before but it didn’t
have these coloured pieces.
9. Dolls did well in Portugal and
Jaggets Minimodel Party
ended up in
9th position.
CHILD: I really
like dolls, I like
to dress and
undress them.
CHILD: You
can paint her
nails.
10. Barbie B-Book ranked tenth.
CHILD: It has lots of games
and it’s easy.
35
Duracell Toy Survey Portugal
Leisure
Activities/Screen Addiction
With 28% of the votes Portuguese
kids chose TV as their favourite
spare time activity, which was far
ahead of the European average
(11%). A quarter of boys and 31%
of girls named TV as their number
one.
Computer and Video games also
scored higher in Portugal than in
the rest of Europe (19% vs
16%), as 39% of boys chose it
as their most favourite. Compared to last year PC/Video
games have also gained in
popularity (10% in 2004).
Playing with toys, which was the
overall number one in Europe
and in Portugal last year, only
came in third with 16%. The split
was slightly disproportionate for
girls as 45% voted for toys and
28%
TV
19%
PC/Video Games
16%
Toys
12%
Outdoor
9%
Sports
Drawing
Friends
only 27% of boys.
Outdoor scored 12% in Portugal
whereas the majority of boys chose
either Toys or PC/Video games as
their favourite leisure time activity,
girls were more split and more involved in other activities, such as
drawing, ballet and playing with
friends.
5%
3%
Toys and Games for Portuguese children
89%
trust TV to get information on new toys, which is the
second highest in Europe after Spain (94%).
50% of Portuguese kids learn about new toys in
shops, while 37% also rely on friends. Compared to
last year this number has increased and is now more
in line with the rest of Europe (35%).
Compared to the rest of Europe children in Portugal
don't really use the internet to source information on
new toys. The internet penetration is still slightly
lower in Southern Europe generally, although these
countries are catching up fast.
50%
37%
20%
6%
Fro m
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See them in
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Fro m friends
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Family
36
Kids in Portugal want to play
outside more often but are not
allowed
The majority of Portuguese children (58%) declare they prefer
playing outdoors to indoors. 74%
of them would like to spend even
more time outside, but they are not
allowed (39%). Together with
Spanish and Italian children Portuguese kids gave this as their main
reason for not playing outdoors
more often.
The weather was their second reason. With a fifth of the votes this
however scored lower than the
average in Europe (29%).
The absence of a safe place was
the third reason Portuguese kids
mentioned for not playing outside
more often, which was in line with
their European counterparts (14%).
Compared to other kids in Europe
the lack of time and the pressure to
do homework scored also relatively
high on the list of Portuguese children.
39%
Not allowed
Weather
20%
No safe place
17%
14%
No time
Homework
4%
Parents don’t
have time
4%
Despite 39% of kids declaring they are not allowed to play outside, 57% of Portuguese parents claim to
always encourage their children to play outside and 42% say to encourage them sometimes. The main
reason for Portuguese parents to prevent their kids from playing outdoors was danger, such as accidents
and/or strangers (52%). Weather was their second reason (49%) followed by the lack of a suitable space,
which a quarter of the parents brought up. Compared to the rest of Europe (average being 11%) Portugal
scored highest here.
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer, 59% mentioned nearly every day and 27% said
about three times a week. The most common place for kids to play outside is a public place (64%) followed
by a private enclosed place (55%).
37
Retail Destination
for Toys
shop as a favourite, as this is a place they can easily go to have a look
at new toys.
toys. One of out two children interviewed declared that Toys R Us was
without doubt their favourite.
Parents felt differently and chose
Carrefour as their favourite over
Toys R Us with 38%. Practicalities
of toy shopping, such as proximity
and perception of good prices play
an important role for them.
Overall in Europe kids have a tendency to chose their closest toy
13%
Carrefour
38%
50%
Toys R Us
Imaginarium
El Corte Ingles
23%
2%
12%
5%
8%
Children's choice
Parent's choice
As per 2004, most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. Similar to their
counterparts in Europe and in line with the previous year most Portuguese parents also started shopping in
November (43%). A third waited till December before hitting the shops.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, 34% of Portuguese parents admit to have packed it
away in November versus a slight majority (53%) in December. Overall in Europe most parents waited till December for the main present with the exception of Germany and the Netherlands where only 19% bought the
main present in the last month of the year.
Christmas?
43%
32%
17%
5%
2%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
38
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
63%
37%
5-6 years
Portuguese parents spend on average
the least on toys for Christmas
14%
11%
42%
budget of €107 from his/her parents. Portuguese parents are slightly more generous than their European counterparts as
their kids receive 8.8 toys for Christmas
and 9.8 for a birthday. The amount spend
per toy on the other hand is the lowest in
Europe (€9) followed by Sweden where
parents spend on average €9.60.
British children receive nearly 15 toys for
Christmas at a lower average price of
€10.13 and 11.8 toys for their birthdays,
also the highest score in the nine countries.
In Portugal, parents attach much importance to educational value (51%) and
quality of build/durability (12%). Value for
money, Interactivity and Long-term
amusement value all score 10%. Overall
educational value scored high amongst
Southern European countries while
Northern Europe scored higher on value
for money and quality of build.
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
105
108
80
62
31%
ParentsPC/Video
50% of Portuguese parents admit that the child’s request is paramount to their decision, followed by quality of build (17%) and cost
(7%). Children’s requests are actually the main reason for purchase
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
Kids-PC/Video
9%
25%
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Kids-Toys
34%
148 160
118
30%
24%
137
27%
7-8 years
Portuguese children don’t seem any different from
their European counterparts and they favour toys
and games to other categories with a strong 63%
for the 5-6 years old. PC and Video games are
also very popular from the age of seven onwards.
Interestingly, 2% of Portuguese children would like
to receive books for Christmas. Portugal and
Spain were the only two countries were books
‘scored’ at all in Europe...
As for parents, it is far too early to ask them about
Christmas in the middle of May, 41% of them have
not decided yet what they will buy their children
and would not pronounce themselves for toys or
any other category. Video and PC games seem
very appealing in Portugal too and outside of toys
and electronic games, parents envisage bikes for
the youngest and a few electronic products or
clothes for the oldest.
39
Spain Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
winner in Spain this year.
CHILD: You have to be careful
not to go off the track.
OBSERVER:They have a hard
time leaving it, and they don't
want to put the controls down
when their turn runs out.
2. Nitro Battler 2 conquered second
place.
OBSERVER: The speed attracts
the children to it – especially the
boys. It runs fast, turbo.
CHILD: It never falls out because it’s protected by the walls
3. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo came in
third.
CHILD: You can make tattoos
and make yourself pretty.
CHILD: I like to draw and paint
myself.
4. Followed by another girl’s favourite,
Fur Real Friend Luv Cubs.
2. Nitro Battler 2
5. Dragon Mountain
7. Jaggets Minimodel Party
8. Geomag Panels
9. Disney Princess Deluxe Play Set
5. Dragon Mountain was fifth.
CHILD: I like dragons… Before I was scared of them but
now I am brave.
6. M a t t e l ’ s H o t W h e e l s
AcceleRacers Swamp Beast
Set sixth.
OBSERVER: They get excited
to race between themselves
and they get even more excited when they are able to do
more turns.
7. Famosa’s Jaggets Minimodel
Party secured seventh position.
CHILD: They
are very modern and wear
cool clothing.
8. Geomag Panels also did well
in Spain and ended up in 8th
position.
9. The girls liked Disney
Princess Deluxe Play Set,
which came in ninth.
CHILD: It’s for a princess. It
has lights, you can put on all
the pieces yourself and look in
the mirror.
10. Mattel’s Fashion Fever
Styling Head closed the
Spanish top 10 this year.
40
Duracell Toy Survey Spain
Leisure
Activities
With 39% of votes playing with
toys remains the number one activity during spare time for Spanish
kids. 45% of 5-7 year olds named
it as their first preference, whereas
this was only 34% for the 8-10
year olds. The split was slightly
disproportionate for boys with 46%
versus 32% for girls.
Computer and Video games
were named second in the list of
favourites with 18%, similar to
last year. Slightly more boys
(20%) than girls (16%) chose PC
games as their number one.
Outdoor came in third with 15%,
below the European average of
21%.
Whereas last year TV scored 4%
this year 8% of Spanish kids referred to it as their favourite
leisure time activity.
Girls in Spain also like to occupy
themselves with activities such as
Drawing and Reading.
39%
Toys
18%
PC/Video Games
15%
Outdoor
TV
8%
Sports
5%
Drawing
5%
Reading
4%
Toys and Games for Spanish children
94%
for getting information about new toys; a staggering
94% of them trust TV, the highest across Europe.
Last year three quarters of kids claimed to use TV as
a source to find out about new toys.
Spanish kids also mention friends (37%) and shops
(35%) for information on new toys.
Similar to the other Southern European countries
Spanish kids also hardly rely on the internet (1%).
German and UK children use the internet the most.
37%
35%
20%
1%
Fro m
televisio n
Fro m friends
See them in
the sho ps
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Internet
41
Kids in Spain want to play outside more often but are not allowed
A slight majority of Spanish children (58%) declare they prefer
playing outdoors to indoors. 54%
of all children interviewed would
like to spend even more time outside, but they are not allowed for
54%, the highest score across
Europe. Together with Portuguese
and Italian children Spanish kids
gave this as their main reason for
not playing outdoors more often.
The interviews were conducted in
Madrid and Sevilla, two of Spain’s
biggest cities and although location
may have an impact on responses,
all countries’ interviews were in
urban areas.
Homework was brought up as the
second reason, scoring a staggering 32%, the highest in Europe.
Compared to their European counterparts Spanish kids don't really
seem to blame the weather, something that is not really a surprise
considering that on average it rains
less in Spain.
Not allowed
54%
Homework
32%
Don’t like going on
my own
4%
Weather
4%
Wash/Dinner/School
4%
52% of Spanish parents always encourage their kids to play outside and 42% claims to do so sometimes.
6% of parents do not encourage their kids to go outdoors, putting them third behind Belgium (28%) and
France (18%). The main reason for Spanish parents to prevent their kids from playing outdoors more often
was danger, such as accidents and/or strangers (54%). Despite weather being their second reason with
39%, compared to the rest of Europe they were far below the average (48%).
Asked how often their children play outside 84% mentioned nearly every day compared to 70% in the rest of
Europe. The most common place for kids to play outside is a public place (71%) followed by playing on the
street (25%).
42
Retail Destination
for Toys
Both a quarter of parents and kids chose El Corte Ingles, a local Department Store Chain as their second favourite retailers overtaking Alcampo, which was the parents’ favourite last year.
toys. The children in our sample declared that Toys R Us was their favourite when it came to purchasing
toys with 25%.
Parents on the other hand preferred
Carrefour (hypermarket chain), their
choice being impacted by the practicalities of toy shopping and their
perception of good prices.
7%
Carrefour
36%
24%
El Corte Ingles
Alcampo
Toys R Us
25%
4%
Children's choice
17%
Parent's choice
25%
12%
As per 2004, most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. Similar to their
counterparts in Europe and in line with the previous year 49% of Spanish parents also started hitting the shops
in November and a third waited till December.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, 42% of parents admit to have packed it away in November versus 46% in December. Overall in Europe most parents waited till December for the main present with
the exception of Germany and the Netherlands where only 19% bought the main present in the last month of
the year.
Christmas?
49%
34%
13%
4%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
43
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
76%
Spanish parents spend on average
more on toys and games than their
European counterparts
5-6 years
53%
10%
17%
41%
Spanish parents are slightly more generous than their European counterparts as
their kids receive 9 toys for Christmas
and 9.2 for a birthday. The amount spend
per toy is also higher than the overall average, €15 versus €12.50. German parents spend the most per toy on average
(€18). British children receive nearly 15
toys for Christmas at a lower average
price of €10.13 and 11.8 toys for their
birthdays, also the highest score in the
nine countries.
In Spain as in Portugal and Italy, parents
attach much importance to educational
value (58%). Long-term amusement
value comes in second (29%) followed by
value for money (28%) and the encouragement for social play (21%). Northern
European countries care most for value
for money and quality of build.
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
105
108
80
62
19%
ParentsPC/Video
42% of Spanish parents admit that the child’s request is paramount
to their decision, followed by quality of build (22%) and cost (19%).
across all countries with an average of about 50% except for Belgium.
KGOY or not?
140
103
98
Kids-PC/Video
22%
40%
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Kids-Toys
44%
148 160
118
43%
24%
137
32%
7-8 years
A whopping 76% of Spanish 5-6 years old would
like to receive a toy for next Christmas! For five
years old, toys was even the only answer given!
Mobile phones like Video and PC games start having an impact from seven onwards. In fact Spain is
the only country where PC and Video games are
more popular than toys for the 7-8 age group with
43% v 41%.
Even if 20% of parents still don’t know what they
will get their kids for Christmas, they seem to approve of their choice for toys and video games
whilst also thinking about clothes and consumer
electronics as per the other countries.
44
Sweden Top 10 Results
FROM TECNITOYS
WINS!
1. Also in Sweden the SCX The Digital
System was the overall winner.
CHILD: It was awesome, full
speed.
CHILD: You can drive again
each other.
2. Nitro Battler 2 from Radica was the
second favourite.
2. Nitro Battler 2
8. Dragon Mountain
10. Lazer Tag Team Ops Deluxe
5. Tyco R/C Terrain
came in fifth.
Twister
8. Dragon Mountain was eigth.
6. Fur Real Friend Luv Cubs
ended up sixth.
CHILD: They are fast and you
can collide with each other.
3. Girl Crush Air Brush Tattoo was the
favourite amongst the girls.
OBSERVER: Cool, a fun toy that
the children were queuing up for
and showed great interest in.
4. Hot Wheels AcceleRacers from Mattel
were fourth.
CHILD: It sounds like he is
drinking.
OBSERVER: The younger
girls could cuddle with it for
longer period, carrying it
around, feeding it, had it in
their lap while they were doing
something else.
CHILD: The eagles were funny
and you could shoot.
9. Integra Type R Street Mayhem
Tuner from Nikko ended up ninth.
7. Fashion Fever Styling Head did
very well with the girls.
OBSERVER:
Several of the
girls
would
have wanted
to stay here
all the time
and not have
play with anything else.
10. Lazer Tag Team Ops Deluxe
from Hasbro closed the
Swedish top 10.
CHILD: Fun and awesome.
Want to have it at home.
45
Duracell Toy Survey Sweden
Leisure
Activities
time for nearly a third of Swedish
kids. 46% of 5-7 year olds said
toys were their favourite compared
to only 14% of 8-10 year olds. The
older kids rather played outdoors
and/or with computer and video
games.
Compared to last year when
PC/Videogames scored 20% of
all votes in Sweden, this year
they only reach 6%, which is the
lowest in Europe. Slightly more
boys than girls were in favour of
PC games.
Playing with friends on the other
hand was mentioned in 16% of
the cases, the highest percentage of the nine European countries. On average friends scored
only 4% in Europe.
TV also seemed less important to
Swedish children. With only 6% it
came in as the number 5 at the same
level as PC/Video games and
Sports.
30%
Toys
22%
Outdoor
16%
Friends
PC/Video Games
6%
TV
6%
Sports
6%
Drawing
3%
Toys and Games for Swedish children
trust TV, slightly lower than last year (60%). Overall
in Europe kids rely on TV in 69% of the cases to find
out about new toys.
Similar to last year with 49%, friends were the second source to find out about new toys. Not surprisingly considering that 16% of kids mentioned that
spending time with friends is their favourite spare
time activity.
Shops come very close with 48% compared to 44%
in the previous year. The internet is only used for
4%, putting it below the European average, which
lies at 6%.
54%
49%
48%
39%
4%
Fro m
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Fro m the
Internet
46
69% of Swedish kids declare they
prefer playing outdoor to indoors
compared to an average of 66% in
Europe. Only 44% of children
would like to spend more time outside, which puts them at the same
level as their German counterparts,
of whom 54% rather spends their
time indoors.
Bad weather and/or darkness as
well as the fact that they don't like
playing outside on their own are
the top 2 reasons why Swedish
kids don't play outside more often
(both with 21%).
14% claims not to be allowed,
which is lower than the European
average (21%). It is mostly in the
Southern European countries that
kids are not allowed to play outside
more often, whereas in Northern
Europe the weather is their main
reason.
Kids also brought up chores, such
as having dinner, preparing to go
to school and homework as a reason not to play outside more often.
Weather
21%
Don’t like going on
my own
21%
Not allowed
Wash/Dinner/School
14%
5%
Homework
2%
No time
2%
Swedish parents are very supportive towards their kids and 75% declare to always encourage them to play
outside, while 23% claim to do so sometimes. Only 2% of parents in Sweden do not encourage their children
to go out. The majority of Swedish parents (56%) claims to have no restrictions at all, but if they do prevent
their kids from playing outside more often, the main reason has to be the weather (30%). Together with
Italian parents Swedish ones worry the least about dangers (18%).
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer nearly all parents (96%) answered nearly
everyday. This is the highest in Europe. The Dutch are the second in line with 88% whereas German kids
hardly ever play outdoors. The most common place for kids to play is a public place (76%). Private enclosed
place was mentioned by 54% of Swedish parents.
47
Retail Destination
for Toys
Similar to last year 10% of parents were in favour of supermarkets,
which is probably not too surprising considering that they are easy to
reach and have good prices overall.
toys. The children in our sample declared that BR Leksaker, a local
chain, was without doubt their favourite with 51% . Overall kids selected a lot of local toy shops, as
these are easy reachable to go and
have a look at new toys.
Toys R Us, the international favourite, was the second best for both
children and parents.
51%
BR Leksaker
39%
27%
Toys R Us
Supermarkets
Barnens Hus
37%
4%
10%
Children's choice
5%
9%
Parent's choice
As per 2004 most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. Swedish parents
on the other hand were rather late compared to their European counterparts, as 38% waited till December before hitting the shops. Compared to last year, however, when 46% started their Christmas shopping in December this number has decreased and more parents (32% vs 23%) bought their first presents already in November.
As for the timing of the main present, 62% waited till December putting them just behind Belgium where 72%
waited before opening their purses for their children’s main gift. Perhaps not surprisingly, the German and the
Dutch were once again the best organized countries, as most of them had already packed away their main gift
in November.
Christmas?
38%
32%
16%
8%
5%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
48
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
47%
Swedish parents are relatively generous compared to their European counterparts
Swedish parents are more generous than
their European counterparts as their kids
receive on average 10.7 toys for Christmas and 10 for a birthday. The amount
per toy spend on the other hand is the
second lowest in Europe (€9.60) after
Portugal where parents spend on average €9. British children receive nearly 15
toys for Christmas at a lower average
price of €10.13 and 11.8 toys for their
birthdays, also the highest score in the
nine countries.
In Sweden, parents attach much importance to quality of build (25%) and longterm amusement value (24%). Different
from their European counterparts Swedish parents find it important that a toy or
game encourages social play (20%).
Hence probably reason why Swedish
children prefer to play with friends more
often than the rest of Europe.
59%
7-8 years
108
103
98
80
62
Kids-Toys
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
24%
19%
16%
Kids-PC/Video
ParentsPC/Video
46% of Swedish parents admit that the child’s request is paramount
to their decision, followed by quality of build (19%) and cost (11%).
KGOY or not?
Young Swedish children seem to fall below average when it comes to choosing toys or games for
their next Christmas present. Only 47% voted for
toys versus 57% for European children overall.
Young Swedes instead went for bikes, clothes and
music.
120
100
80
60
40
20
Eu
ro
Be pe
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iu
Fr m
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G tal
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m
a
H ny
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Po and
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Sp l
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ed
en
U
K
0
105
7%
44%
140
118
45%
31%
148 160
137
21%
18%
107
53%
5-6 years
On the other hand more 7-10 years old chose toys
versus the rest or Europe and only 8% of 7-8 years
old went for PC or video games. This ties in with
their favourite activities where we noted Swedish
children put video games much below other countries.
Parents tend to agree with their children and start
considering other categories from the age of six.
However Swedish parents distinguish themselves
as only 3% of them have not made their mind up
yet as to what they will buy for Christmas – compared to 48% of Belgian parents or 41% for the
Portuguese!
49
UK Top 10 Results
GIRL CRUSH AIR
B R U S H T AT T O O
F AV O U R I T E I N U K
1. Last year’s winner was alos this
year’s winner in the UK. Feva’s Girl
Crush Air Brush Tattoo came in first.
CHILD: You can make loads;
they have nice designs.
OBSERVER: There always
seemed to be a group around it
waiting their turn or helping others with their tattoos.
2. The recently launched Roboraptor
scored well with the boys.
2. Roboraptor
3. Dragon Mountain
5. Dr Dreadful Freaky Food Lab
7. SW Darth Vader Voice Changer Mask
9. Indoor Keepy Uppy
10. Cella Sticker Machine
5. Dr Dreadful Freaky Food Lab
did well with both age groups
and was the overall number
five.
CHILD: You can make that
gooey stuff and it’s all disgusting and you can eat it.
CHILD: The way it moves is
great.
3. Dragon Mountain was
favourite amongst the boys.
another
8.
Hot Wheels AcceleRacers
Swamp Beast Set ended up
in eighth position.
9. Upstarts Keepy Uppy came in
ninth.
OBSERVER: High fun and
excitement levels, held interest
for long periods.
scored particularly high with
the girls.
CHILD: There is dragon covered in ice; once you push the
button it explodes.
4. Tecnitoys SXC The Digital System
came in fourth in the UK.
7. Star Wars Darth Vader Voice
Changer Mask ranked seventh.
OBSERVER: They found racing
the cars very exciting and
seemed to enjoy the competitive
element of the toy.
CHILD: He
talks like an
angry voice.
10. Tomy’s Cella Sticker Machine
closed the UK Top 10.
CHILD: You can make whatever sticker you want, it is
great!
50
Duracell Toy Survey UK
Leisure
Activities
Playing with computer and/or
video games remains the number
one spare time activity for boys
and girls in the UK (the highest
score in Europe). Nearly a quarter
selected this activity as their most
preferred way to spend their leisure time. Playing PC/Video
games is very much male orientated as 27% of boys put it in their
top list versus only 17% of girls.
Outdoor came in second with
21%, scored higher than last
year (11%) and was in line with
the rest of Europe.
Toys ranked third similar to Portugal and the Netherlands. There
was an equal split between 5-7
and 8-10 year olds somewhat
surprisingly.
UK kids only chose TV as number four with 15%, similar to their
counterparts in the rest of
Europe although most studies
show that British kids watch more TV
than their neighbours. UK girls liked
to spread their spare time across
activities, such as drawing and reading, in line with the rest of Europe.
23%
PC/Video Games
21%
Outdoor
18%
Toys
15%
TV
13%
Sports
Drawing
3%
Reading
3%
Toys and Games for UK children
trust TV, which is higher than last year (52%) but
very much in line with the rest of Europe.
Whereas only 31% of UK children relied on friends
to get information on new toys and games in 2004 ,
this year it’s the second biggest source with 44%. A
third of kids learn about new toys in shops, slightly
down on the year before (48%). The reliance on
magazines, however, remained the same.
UK children are second in line after the Germans to
use the internet to source information on new toys.
9% said to use this medium, which is slightly higher
than the European average (6%) and only a little bit
higher than last year (8%).
66%
44%
33%
30%
9%
Fro m
televisio n
Fro m friends
See them in
the sho ps
See them in
magazines o r
catalo gues
Fro m the
Internet
51
60% of UK kids declare they prefer
playing outdoor to indoors compared to an average of 66% in
Europe. A vast majority (76%) of
children would like to spend more
time outside, but the weather is
keeping them from doing this. 38%
gave this as the main reason for
not playing outside more often
compared to 29% across Europe.
The lack of a safe place was mentioned in 15% of the cases similar
to the rest of Europe.
Only 12% said not to be allowed,
which is lower than their European
counterparts (21%).
Chores such as washing, dinner
and preparing to go to school as
well as being occupied with homework were also some of the reasons UK kids brought up when
asked why they don't play outside
more often. As we know kids are
more and more encouraged to take
part in extra-curriculum activities
and it is interesting that they seem
to feel the pressure of a busy
schedule already in their early
years.
Weather
38%
15%
No safe place
Not allowed
12%
Homework
6%
Wash/Dinner/School
6%
No one to play with
5%
Don’t l ike going on
my own
3%
The majority of parents in the UK encourage their children to play outdoors: 48% say they always encourage
them to play outside and the same percentage claims to do it sometimes. Overall only 4% do not encourage
their children to play outdoors, which is lower than the European average (6%). The main reason preventing
UK parents to encourage their kids to play outside was the weather. With 71% they scored highest in this
category. Darkness falling before 4pm can explain this. Danger, such as accidents and strangers was their
second reason (59%).
Asked how often their children play outside in the summer 71% answered nearly everyday and 21% said
about 3 times a week. This is very much in line with the overall average. Only German kids hardly ever play
outside (52%). The most common place for kids to play is a public place (71%). Private enclosed place was
mentioned by 61% of the UK parents.
52
Retail Destination
for Toys
In most countries though children select their closest toy shop, a place
where they can easily go and look at products. Argos, the number one
British retailer for toys and also the biggest catalogue showroom in the
UK, was selected fourth.
toys. The children in our sample declared that Woolworths was without
doubt their favourite when it came to
purchasing toys with 30%. Parents
chose this local chain in 51% of the
cases, mainly because of choice
and good prices. Woolworths are
famous for their multi-buy offers
across a wide range of categories buy one get one free.
Toys R Us was named second by
both parents and children.
30%
Woolworths
51%
19%
Toys R Us
Other Toy Shops
Argos
16%
9%
10%
14%
9%
Children's choice
Parent's choice
As per 2004 most European parents (41%) started their Christmas shopping in November. In the UK over a
third of parents started shopping for Christmas in November after most catalogues have been distributed in
everyone’s letter box. 42% started before November and a quarter waited for December. Once again, this is
not dissimilar to the rest of Europe and is interesting to put in parallel to NPD Eurotoys Retail Tracking data
which shows that 19% of annual toy sales occur in November against 24% in December.
As for the timing of the purchase for the main present, 42% of parents admit to have packed it away in November versus 48% in December. This is fairly balanced in contradiction to Spain and Italy where December plays
a more important part and the average price of toys is much higher in December as parents tend to leave
things up to the last minute.
Christmas?
35%
24%
20%
9%
11%
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
53
Parental
Shopping
Trends
will be?
48%
5-6 years
UK kids receive on average a
higher number of presents for
Christmas and Birthdays
In the UK a child would receive on
average 14.6 toys and games for
Christmas for a total budget of €148, the
highest in Europe. Overall in Europe a
child receives 8.5 toys for a total amount
of €107. More than 50% of UK parents
spend more than €100 for the Christmas
presents, whereas in Belgium for example the majority of parents spend less
than €60.
Contrary to the rest of Europe UK children receive on average less presents for
their birthday than for Christmas (11.8 vs
14.8). Sweden is the only other country
where this is the case.
Nearly half of parents in the UK believe
that they spent exactly what they intended for Christmas and a similar percentage (48%) spend more than intended. For 2005 56% expects to spend
the same amount and 28% expects to
spend even more than the year before.
62%
7-8 years
105
108
98
80
62
Kids-Toys
Parents-Toys
9-10 years
Kids-PC/Video
21%
8%
33%
ParentsPC/Video
UK parents identify three main elements. First they rely a lot on
their child’s opinion and/or desires (45%), second they want quality
toys (17%) and third the cost of toys and/or the special offers play
an important part (13%). Children’s requests are actually the main
reason for purchase across all countries with an average of about
50% except for Belgium.
KGOY or not?
140
103
7%
50%
The UK is no different to his counterparts when it
comes to KGOY. British kids are more and more
into fashion, consumer electronics and basically
aspirational life styles. It is therefore reassuring
to see that 62% of the 7-8 years old would still
prefer a toy or a game for Christmas (versus 48%
for Europe) and 50% of the 9-10 years old.
120
100
80
60
40
20
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ro
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0
107
45%
24%
148 160
118
11%
26%
How much did you spend last Christmas, per
child, on Toys & Games?
137
44%
It is true that with new ‘smart toys’ such as
Robosapien (one of the Duracell winners of 2004
and sacred best selling toy for December 04),
Roboraptor or the SCX Digital system, the products on offer are really exciting even for this increasingly difficult age group.
Parents however voted in mass for video and PC
games and to a stronger extent than their children; a third of the 9-10 years old and already a
quarter of the 7-8 years old.

Children and Playing Outdoors

Transcription

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