Children's Books and Games for Video Consoles Are Tops in Toy Buying Intent This Holiday Season

Half of Americans will purchase toys and half of toy purchasers will buy at large discount stores

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Nov 16, 2011, 06:04 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The stores' circulars are out and the commercials have definitely started. It's the time of year when kids start their holiday gift lists and are sometimes more interested in the commercials rather than the television shows themselves. And, those who purchase gifts for kids are listening. Half of Americans (51%) say they will be purchasing toys as gifts this holiday season, while two in five (40%) will not and one in ten (9%) are not sure. As one might expect, whether there is a child in the household does impact purchase intent – three-quarters of those with a child in the household (72%) say they plan to purchase toys compared to 42% of those without a child in the household.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,463 adults surveyed online between October 10 and 17, 2011 by Harris Interactive®.

Toy manufacturers should expect slightly less in terms of sales when compared to the last two years. In 2009 and 2010 over half of Americans (54% and 53% respectively) said they were planning to purchase toys as gifts, so this year is just slight decline.

Spending on toys compared to last year

In terms of how much people will spend, the economy is still taking its toll on holiday spending. While more than two in five toy purchasers (46%) say their spending will be no different than last year, over one-third (35%) say they will spend less than they did last year while 16% say they will spend more than they did last year. Among those toy purchasers with a child in the household 16% say they will spend more than they did last year, over two in five (43%) say their spend will be no different and two in five (39%) say they will spend less than they did last year.

Toys to be purchased this year

When it comes to the toys children will be unwrapping this holiday season, it seems books, video games and arts and crafts projects will top the list. Over two in five toy purchasers (45%) say they will purchase children's books, while one-third will buy games for consoles (33%) and three in ten will buy arts and crafts (29%). One-quarter (25%) will purchase board games and dolls (25%) as gifts. Just over one in five will purchase building blocks and bricks (23%), one in five will purchase handheld electronic games (20%) and sports equipment (19 %) while 7% will purchase game consoles. One-quarter will purchase something else in terms of toys for kids (25%) and one in five are just not sure (20%).

For those with a 0-2 year old in the household, children's books clearly top the list (69%), followed by dolls (52%) and building blocks and bricks (51%). For those with a 3-5 year old in the household, children's books are tops (62%), then arts and crafts (44%) and dolls (41%) while for those with a 6-9 year old, it's still children's books on top (59%), then games for consoles (52%) and board games (45%). Looking at those with a tween (ages 10-12) in the household, they are purchasing games for consoles (67%), then children's books (43%) and board games (41%) while those with a teen (13-17) are buying games for consoles (62%), sports equipment (37%) and children's books (34%).

Where people are shopping for toys

In terms of where these toy dollars will be spent, over half of toy purchasers will be mostly shopping for toys at large discount stores (56%), while over one-quarter (27%) will mostly shop online for toys this year. One in ten (10%) will mostly shop at a national toy retail chain store while 4% will shop at a local, privately owned specialty toy store. Women are more likely to shop mostly at a large discount store for toys (61% vs. 50% of men) while men are more likely to shop for toys at a national toy store retail chain (14% vs. 6% of women).

So what?

While the holiday season is a joyous time for so many, it is an especially happy one for the children. And, one of those reasons is that it is when their holiday wish lists get written and, if they were good boys and girls, answered. This year, books and games are top for purchasing so hopefully those are on the top of the wish lists!

TABLE 1 HOLIDAY TOY PURCHASING "Thinking now of this holiday season, are you planning on purchasing toys as gifts this year?" Base: All adults
	Total	Child in household
	Total	Households with children	Households without children
	%	%	%
WILL PURCHASE (NET)	51	72	42
Definitely will purchase	26	48	16
Probably will purchase	26	24	26
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET)	40	22	48
Probably will not purchase	20	14	23
Definitely will not purchase	20	8	25
Not sure	9	6	10

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

TABLE 2 HOLIDAY TOY PURCHASING - TREND "Thinking now of this holiday season, are you planning on purchasing toys as gifts this year?" Base: All adults
	2008	2009	2010	2011
	%	%	%	%
WILL PURCHASE (NET)	47	54	53	51
Definitely will purchase	19	26	24	26
Probably will purchase	28	28	29	26
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET)	41	36	40	40
Probably will not purchase	22	18	19	20
Definitely will not purchase	19	18	21	20
Not sure	12	10	7	9

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3 HOLIDAY TOY PURCHASING SPEND COMPARED TO LAST YEAR "Compared to the amount you spent for toy purchases last year, will the toy purchases you make this year be…?" Base: Will purchase toys
	Total	Child in household		Household income
	Total	With children	Without children	$34,9k Or less	$35k – $49.9k	$50k – $74.9k	$75k-$99.9k	$100k+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
MORE THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	16	16	15	18	7	18	17	16
Much more than last year	3	4	1	3	1	2	3	3
Somewhat more than last year	13	12	14	14	7	16	14	13
No different than last year	46	43	48	36	40	46	51	56
LESS THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	35	39	33	41	52	35	27	27
Somewhat less than last year	27	29	25	24	31	29	26	24
Much less than last year	9	9	8	17	21	6	1	3
Did not purchase toys last year	3	3	3	5	1	1	5	1

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

TABLE 4 HOLIDAY TOY PURCHASING SPEND COMPARED TO LAST YEAR - TREND "Compared to the amount you spent for toy purchases last year, will the toy purchases you make this year be…?" Base: Will purchase toys
	2008	2009	2010	2011
	%	%	%	%
MORE THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	16	16	15	16
Much more than last year	2	4	5	3
Somewhat more than last year	13	12	11	13
No different than last year	36	41	44	46
LESS THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	44	39	37	35
Somewhat less than last year	26	25	25	27
Much less than last year	18	14	12	9
Did not purchase toys last year	4	3	3	3

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

TABLE 5 TYPES OF TOYS TO BE PURCHASED THIS YEAR "What types of toys will you purchase this year?" Base: Will purchase toys
	Total	Child in household and age						Gender
	Total	2 years or less	3-5 years old	6-9 years old	10-12 years old	13-17 years old	No child in HH	Men	Women
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Children's books	45	69	62	59	43	34	39	40	49
Games for consoles	33	21	34	52	67	62	26	36	30
Arts and crafts	29	38	44	33	30	28	27	27	32
Board games	25	22	38	45	41	26	21	23	28
Dolls	25	52	41	29	27	27	20	24	26
Building blocks and bricks	23	51	33	21	16	22	21	23	23
Handheld electronic games	20	19	26	29	35	22	16	25	15
Sports equipment	19	18	20	25	36	37	15	23	14
Game consoles	7	3	9	10	16	13	5	8	7
Something else	25	32	34	34	27	35	21	22	28
Not sure	20	9	6	7	11	10	26	20	20

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

TABLE 6 WHERE TOYS WILL BE PURCHASED THIS YEAR "Where will you shop the most for toys?" Base: Will purchase toys
	Total	Child in household		Gender
	Total	With children	Without children	Men	Women
	%	%	%	%	%
Large discount store (such as Walmart or K-Mart)	56	55	56	50	61
Online	27	27	27	28	26
National toy store retail chain	10	11	9	14	6
Local, privately owned specialty toy store	4	5	3	4	3
Other location	4	2	5	4	4

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 10 to 17, 2011 among 2,463 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

J40806
Q955, 960, 965, 970, 975

The Harris Poll® #119, November 16, 2011
By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive