Sunday, December 05, 2004

Santa's Bag

Battery supremos Duracell have conducted a Europe-wide survey on the most popular toys this Christmas. Full details can be found here.

The report is available as a PDF, the most interesting part of the report is the survey insights section which highlighted some cultural trends amongst children and the differences across Europe. I have summarised these below

  • Actions is the strongest draw for boys with radio controlled cars and race tracks
  • Fashion and beauty is the big draw for girls - the Smoby Star Party CD which allowed girls to become a singer a la Pop Idol or Fame Academy was a winner in this category
UK:USA
  • The UK was considered to have consumption patterns closer to the US than Europe
  • More toys were bought and more money spent in the UK than other European countries

Northern versus Southern Europe
  • Northern children prefer being outdoors taking part in sport
  • Southern children prefer to play indoors with computer games and watching television
  • Southern children receive a higher amount of pocket money than Northern children, but Northern children start receiving pocket money at a younger age
  • Northern children discover new toys through multiple channels: word of mouth, television, magazines, print advertisements, retail displays and catalogues
  • Southern children primarily discover new toys through television
  • Southern parents put a greater emphasis on educational value when purchasing toys