Some good news for the toy makers and fans all over the world. The toy market grew by 4% for the first half of this year, the NPD Group reported.
The NPD Groups tracks a total of 13 international market, ToyNews reports. Almost all of them posted solid gains.
Mexico is the leader with a whole 15% rise, followed by Brazil with 11% jump. The US market jumped 7%. There’s a slight decrease in Europe because of a few markets. The major European markets like Russia, Germany, Italy and Spain though all posted gains.
So, what toys are the most popular? The usual, basically. Collectibles are the top leader. But interestingly, “social media” is the second biggest seller. Those are the two leading trends which NPD expect to continue to rise for the second half of 2018.
“More than entertainment, brands have been an important trend to move the needle for the industry so far this year,” said Frederique Tutt, global toys industry analyst at The NPD Group. “Some key themes have also emerged or have been increasing in popularity, such as dinosaurs and unicorns on the one hand, and slime or toilet humour on the other.”
LOL Surprise continues to be a top seller. In fact, it’s the number one property in all 13 markets combined. The global sales of LOL Surprise jumped 26%.
The Fingerlings are leading the electronics segment. The whole segment posted a 29% jump. Other major drivers are Soft n Slow Squishies, Major League Baseball cards and Panini Russia 2018 World Cup stickers.
Finally, the NPD Group expects that the global toy market will continue to rise. The company forecasts that the market can reach $99 billion by 2022.
