Global Toy Market to Surpass $90 Billion in 2016

New NPD/ICTI Report Available to TIA Members

December 13, 2016 | The global toy market is expected to exceed $90 billion in sales in 2016 – a record for the toy industry – according to a new report by The NPD Group and the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI).

The 2016 NPD/ICTI Global Toy Market Report provides analysis to help toy companies address global toy market opportunities. The report’s deep-dive into global market sales includes growth metrics by region and by country, annual spend per child by country as well as a breakdown of spending by category spending for each of the 11 countries covered by NPD.

“This report is another valuable resource that TIA provides to its members that is a must read,” said Anne McConnell, senior director of market research & data strategy at the Toy Industry Association (TIA). “The global sales data will be beneficial to many of our members in their market expansion plans and we are happy to have assisted NPD and ICTI in bringing this research to fruition.”

Global toy sales experienced continued growth over the past five years. Sales in 2015 increased 4% over the prior year to $87.4 billion, its greatest year-over-year increase since 2011.  North America was the best-performing region in 2015 with sales up by 6% to $28.9 billion, said NPD. 

The report noted that the U.S. is the largest individual market, cornering nearly 30% of the global market in 2015. The U.S. is also among the top countries in the world in regards to toy spending per child. U.S. consumers spent an average of $482 per child on toys for kids up to nine years old in 2015.

Additionally, the report revealed that a significant portion of global toy sales is driven by licensed toys. While Mexico had the highest penetration of licensed toys in 2015, at 35% of sales, the U.S. followed in second place, with 31% of total sales coming from licensed toys.

“The business of toys is truly global and this new report underscores both the strength of sales and the many opportunities that exist for companies looking to grow in new markets,” said Steve Pasierb, TIA’s President & CEO. “TIA remains a proud member of ICTI, which brings together toy associations from around the globe building communication, understanding and valuable outcomes like this study that benefit the individual members of each nation’s toy association.”

The report is available upon request to eligible TIA members. Members may contact TIA’s Anne McConnell for the report.