Zulily Unveils Its Second Annual Top Toy List For 2021 Alongside America's Most Playful Cities

SEATTLE, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Tis the season to stock up early as today online retailer Zulily®  announced its second annual Top Toy List for 2021, giving moms an earlier-than-normal look at the hottest toys along with other holiday items that may be in shorter-than-usual supply this season.

Consumers plan to spend $998 on average gifting this winter, be it for themselves, their families or their friends. Ongoing supply chain challenges as a result of the pandemic and inflation, which is at the highest it's been over the past 13 years, means finding unbeatable deals on the most coveted items will be challenging this holiday season.

"We know the holidays can be stressful for moms and that's going to be heightened this year if they can't find exactly what they're looking for – for their families or friends," said Sheila Nugent, Director of Toy Merchandising at Zulily. "That's why we're giving them the ultimate holiday preview before anyone else, so they can plan ahead and ensure no sad faces when it comes time to unwrap gifts. And since Zulily offers up to 70% off on the must-haves for the season – from gifts and home décor to toys, moms will have peace of mind instead of panic this holiday."

In its 2021 Toy Index, Zulily – one of the largest online retailers for toys – names its Top 25 Toys for Holiday, hand-picked by its in-house toy experts. The index also offers an inside look at what other holiday items moms are shopping for early with a list of Top Trending Holiday Items to Buy in Advance – and names America's Most Playful Cities, those that are buying and searching for more games and toys than any other U.S. metropolis.

Zulily's Top 25 Toys for Holiday: From toys that develop fine motor and problem-solving skills, to toys that invite imagination and spark creativity, moms can find these or similar toys on Zulily that are guaranteed to help create holiday magic. Make sure to shop early, as most of Zulily's sales events last only 72 hours – so once it's gone, it's gone! But with new things added every day, customers can check back often to find exactly what they're looking for. Some of the top toys for this holiday season include:

1. Barbie® Three-In-One Dreamcamper by Barbie: Prepare for a wonderful camping trip with this versatile set! Kids can change the shape and functionality of the camper to create imaginative arrangements all their own. Suitable for ages 3 and up.
2. PicassoTiles 101-Piece 3D Magnetic Building Tile Play Set by PicassoTiles: Design, build and let imaginations soar with this colorful, magnetic toy set that little ones will love. Suitable for ages 3 and up.
3. Fisher-Price® Giant Rock-a-Stack® Toy by Fisher-Price: Help strengthen and develop your little one's fine motor and problem-solving skills with these stacked rings in bright colors. Suitable for babies 12 months and up.
4. Joybay Sky Blue Premium LED Swing Car by Joybay: Boasting vibrant hues and a dynamic design, this sweet ride-on just needs kiddos to turn the steering wheel from left to right to get racing. Able to be used indoors and out, this super quiet ride features light up LED wheels for a dazzling drive by display. Suitable for ages 3 and up.
5. LEGO® Marvel Studios The Guardians' Ship by The LEGO Group: Transport kids into a universe of imaginative adventures with this rewarding model-making project, perfect for any fan of the Marvel Universe. Suitable for ages 14 and up.

Stock Up on All Things Holiday at the Right Time: When it comes to holiday décor and preparing the home for entertaining, 71% of moms start buying their holiday gifts in advance. Shopping data from Zulily reveals moms are stockpiling Christmas décor and other holiday items as early as July. This shopping data will help consumers plan ahead and avoid last-minute panic this season: 

• Holiday stockings: The number of holiday stockings purchased were up +256% in July 2021 compared to previous months and are expected to reach an impressive +1,609% by the time November rolls around – based on data from November 2020.
• Holiday ornaments: Zulily data shows moms were stocking up by getting them all in July and August 2020, with August selling 4x as many as July.
• Green Trimmings: Most faux trees, wreaths and garland are purchased in October and November, making September a prime time to find what you need.

America's Most Playful Cities: Certain cities are proving to be a bit more playful than others this holiday season. According to Zulily sales data and Google trend searches of toys and games, 20 cities rank as America's Most Playful Cities, from the bright lights of Vegas to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Not to mention Texas, where everything is bigger – even the fun, snagged five of the top 20 spots:

1. San Antonio, Texas: San Antonio is not only the most visited city in Texas, it's also a huge fan of having fun. You could line nearly the entire length of the Riverwalk (over 13 miles worth!) based on the number of toys and games they've purchased in the last year.
2. Louisville, Ky.: If you stacked all the card games Louisville purchased over the last year, you'd have the equivalent of 1.86 times the height of "The Big Bat," the city's famous exact-scale replica of Babe Ruth's 34-inch Louisville Slugger, which towers over 120 feet into the sky. 
3. Colorado Springs, Colo.: When it comes to superheroes, Colorado Springs a.k.a. Olympic City USA might know a thing or two. Home to the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics headquarters, training center and museum – it's no surprise action figures were the city's top toy choice.
4. Las Vegas, Nev.: Vegas is known for playing games, but did you know they love board games the most? You'd have to pass GO in Monopoly 75 times to equal the number of board games purchased here over the last year.
5. Fort Worth, Texas: Home to the Texas Motor Speedway, the number of toys and games purchased in Fort Worth over the last year is equivalent to going around "The Great American Speedway" track over six times.
6. Philadelphia, Pa.: Prepare to climb the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum 789 times to equal the number of toys and games bought by the "City of Brotherly Love."
7. Omaha, Neb.: You'd have to cross Omaha's renowned bridge, "Bob", 16 times to equal the number of toys and games purchased by this city in the last year. While there, make sure you go "Bobbing" which means taking a photo on Bob's state line between Nebraska and Iowa.
8. Houston, Texas: Houston doesn't have a problem... when it comes to size. As the most populous city in Texas, it's no wonder toy building sets were their top toy choice – they've got architects in the making!
9. Phoenix, Ariz.: "Valley of the Sun" residents might be a little stressed. Phoenix ranked second highest in the country for fidget toy searches.
10. Columbus, Ohio: We were puzzled to see Columbus's top game of choice were puzzles and not card games, considering world famous card trick magician Howard Thurston hails from the city known as "The Heart of it All".
11. Chicago, Ill.: The "Windy City" will blow you away by how good they are at puzzles – their most purchased game.
12. Portland, Ore.: When it comes to being quirky, Portland reigns supreme as home to the world's smallest city park, the 24" Mill Ends Park – which you could fill over 100x with the number of Stuffed Animals residents have purchased over the last year.
13. Charlotte, N.C.: "Queen City" sure knows how to have fun – you'd have to walk the length of Little Sugar Creek Greenway 2.5 times to equal the number of toys and games purchased by the city of Charlotte over the last year.
14. New York, N.Y.: Start spreading the news. It's no surprise what type of toys the epicenter of art and culture purchased most – development toys! You could visit every Subway stop in NYC nine times to equal how many they've purchased.
15. Virginia Beach, Va.: While the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center features an impressive 12,000 animals, Virginia Beach residents purchased nearly three times as many toys and games over the last year.
16. Tucson, Ariz.: Tucson is famous for having 350 days of sun a year. If every toy and game purchased by the city over the last year represented a day, you'd have the equivalent of 107 sunshine-filled years to look forward to!
17. Kansas City, Mo.: With over 200 fountains, Kansas City is known as the "City of Fountains." Based on the number of toys and games they purchased over the last year, you could visit every fountain in the city over 153 times.
18. Dallas, Texas: Based on the number of toys and games purchased by the city of Dallas over the last year, you could fill the Dallas Zoo, which houses 2,000 animals, nearly 22 times.
19. Oklahoma City, Okla.: As the largest city in the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City must be polka music fans – as accordions are their musical instrument of choice, their most purchased in fact.
20. Austin, Texas: While an impressive number of toys and games were purchased by the city of Austin over the last year, it only represents 4.3% of the 1.5 million bats (the largest bat colony in North America) living under Congress Avenue Bridge – Keep Austin Weird!

The top toys and trending holiday items are all available in Zulily's Santa's Workshop and annual Holidays Shop, which features everything moms need for the holiday season, with early deals on gifts, holiday décor, toys and more. Santa's Workshop is live now through December 15, 2021.

For more tips on how to plan ahead this holiday season – and all year long, read Zulily's new "Brain of the Planner" report.

Methodologies:
The Top Trending Holiday items were identified by looking at sales of holiday items sold on Zulily.com from 7/25/20 through 8/1/21 to determine month-by-month trends. 

America's Most Playful Cities were identified by comparing top cities that ranked across Zulily sales and Google search data. The cities that purchased the most Toys and Games on Zulily.com from 8/1/2020 – 7/31/2021, were compared with those that ranked highest in Google Trends for searches of "Toys" and "Games" from 8/1/2020 – 7/31/2021. The average ranking was calculated for each city that appeared in all three data sets to determine their spot on this list.

About Zulily^® 

Online retailer Zulily helps moms around the world discover incredible deals and fresh style for themselves, their families and their homes. Zulily launches thousands of products at amazing values each day, curating personalized shopping experiences that include apparel and footwear for the whole family, toys, home décor, and so much more. Zulily's app uses compelling video and imagery to bring more than 15,000 big name brands and boutique finds to life on mobile. 

Zulily is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with locations in Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and China.  With expertise in technology, merchandising, creative production, logistics, marketing, customer service, and more, Zulily team members work together to deliver a fun and engaging shopping experience that sparks discovery, connection and entertainment. Zulily has passed millions in savings onto its customers since its first sale in 2010. For more information visit www.zulily.com.  

Zulily, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qurate Retail, Inc. (NASDAQ: QRTEA, QRTEB, QRTEP), which includes QVC^®, HSN^®, Zulily and the Cornerstone brands (collectively, "Qurate Retail Group^SM"), as well as other minority interests and green energy investments. Qurate Retail Group believes in a Third Way to Shop® – beyond transactional ecommerce or traditional brick-and-mortar stores. In addition to being a world leader in video commerce, Qurate Retail Group is among the top ecommerce retailers in North America (according to Digital Commerce 360) and is a leader in mobile commerce and social commerce. For more information, visit www.qurateretailgroup.com, or follow @QurateRetailGrp on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or follow Qurate Retail Group on YouTube or LinkedIn.  

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