Toy sales gain ground in global markets

By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, July 29, 2009

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—Despite a negative contribution from the domestic market, worldwide toy sales rose 2.3 percent in 2008 when measured at constant exchange rates, a scenario The NPD Group predicts will become more common as global markets grow in relation to the U.S. toy business.

According to NPD’s Global Toy Trends and Forecasts 2009 report, global toy sales rose by $2.4 billion (U.S.) in 2008 when factoring out changes in currency rates. When counted based on current exchange rates, global sales were off 0.8 percent in 2008, to $78.09 billion.

Sixty-five percent of that global toy business came from 10 countries, NPD said, with North America representing 30 percent of worldwide toy sales, followed by Europe at 29 percent, and Asia at 27 percent. The U.S. is the world’s top toy market, contributing $21.7 billion in sales, followed by Japan and China, respectively.

"We continue to see growth in all the emerging markets," said Jane Zimmy, Global Senior Vice President Toys, The NPD Group. "Sales in Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) continue to outpace total market sales, making these nations increasingly important to the overall growth of the global toy market.”

Asia and Africa are expected to strengthen their contributions to the world toy market in the next few years, with Asia likely to overtake the U.S. and Europe by the end of 2012, NPD predicts. North America would then become the second largest market among global regions, contributing 28 percent of global sales, and Europe would represent 27 percent, which is a two percentage point loss compared to 2008.

The U.S and Europe represented a combined 57 percent of the world’s toy consumption in 2008, a three point decrease from 2007.

At the current pace of growth, NPD expects worldwide toy sales to reach $80.3 billion in 2012.

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