Over Half of Americans Purchasing Toys This Holiday Season

Books, games for consoles and board games top the list

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Nov 22, 2010, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Stores are decked for the holidays and television ads for the latest toys, gifts and gadgets have hit the air. As we inch closer to the holidays, over half of Americans (53%) say they are planning to purchase toys as gifts this year while two in five (40%) say they will not purchase toys and 7% are not sure. As might be expected, almost three-quarters of those in a household with children (73%) say they will purchase toys as gifts this year.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll^® of 3,084 adults surveyed online between October 11 and 18, 2010 by Harris Interactive®.

Toy manufacturers should expect similar sales as last year. In 2009, over half (54%) of Americans said they were planning to purchase toys as gifts, so this year should see more of the same.

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 (44%) say their spending will be no different than last year, over one-third (37%) say they will spend less than they did last year while 15% say they will spend more than they did last year. Among those toy purchasers with a child in the household, almost one-quarter (23%) say they will spend more than they did last year, over one-third (36%) say their spend will be no different and two in five (41%) 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 board games will top the list. Two in five toy purchasers (43%) say they will purchase children's books, while one-third will buy games for consoles (32%) and board games (32%). Three in ten (29%) will purchase arts and crafts, while one-quarter (26%) will buy dolls as gifts. One in five will each purchase building blocks and bricks (22%), sports equipment (21%) and handheld electronic games (20%) while 13% will purchase game consoles.

While children's books top the list for what both men (41%) and women (46%) will purchase, there are some differences in the other types of toys they will be purchasing. Men are more likely to purchase games for consoles (36% vs. 27%), video game consoles (16% vs. 9%) and, perhaps not surprisingly, sports equipment (29% vs. 12%).

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 (54%), while one-quarter (23%) will mostly shop online for toys this year. One in ten (11%) will mostly shop at a national toy retail chain store while 5% will shop at a local, privately owned specialty toy store.

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)	53	73	44
Definitely will purchase	24	39	17
Probably will purchase	29	34	27
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET)	40	20	49
Probably will not purchase	19	12	22
Definitely will not purchase	21	9	27
Not sure	7	6	7

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
	%	%	%
WILL PURCHASE (NET)	47	54	53
Definitely will purchase	19	26	24
Probably will purchase	28	28	29
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET)	41	36	40
Probably will not purchase	22	18	19
Definitely will not purchase	19	18	21
Not sure	12	10	7

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+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
MORE THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	15	23	10	9	16	22	17
Much more than last year	5	9	2	2	2	6	7
Somewhat more than last year	11	14	8	6	14	17	10
No different than last year	44	36	50	41	39	39	49
LESS THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	37	41	35	47	42	35	31
Somewhat less than last year	25	28	23	29	29	24	23
Much less than last year	12	13	12	18	13	11	9
Did not purchase toys last year	3	1	5	4	3	3	3

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
	%	%	%
MORE THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	16	16	15
Much more than last year	2	4	5
Somewhat more than last year	13	12	11
No different than last year	36	41	44
LESS THAN LAST YEAR (NET)	44	39	37
Somewhat less than last year	26	25	25
Much less than last year	18	14	12
Did not purchase toys last year	4	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		Gender
	Total	With children	Without children	Men	Women
	%	%	%	%	%
Children's books	43	50	38	41	46
Games for consoles	32	43	24	36	27
Board games	32	43	24	31	33
Dolls	26	33	21	25	27
Arts and crafts	29	35	24	27	30
Building blocks and bricks	22	28	18	24	20
Sports equipment	21	29	15	29	12
Handheld electronic games	20	28	14	23	16
Game consoles	13	23	6	16	9
Something else	31	36	27	27	35
Not sure	21	13	27	22	21

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)	54	55	54	48	61
Online	23	24	22	27	18
National toy store retail chain	11	11	11	14	8
Local, privately owned specialty toy store	5	6	4	5	5
Other location	6	4	8	6	7

Note: Multiple Responses Allowed

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 11 to 18, 2010 among 3,084 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.

J38848

Q805, 810, 815, 820

The Harris Poll^® #144, November 22, 2010

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, European, and Asian 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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