Christmas toy sales: the intention to buy online only is growing
Swiss households plan to spend practically the same amount on toys this Christmas as last year. The category's online offering has increased massively, as has the exclusive use of the channel. However, the proportion of non-buyers has also increased. This is shown by the GfK study "Christmas toy shopping 2018".
CHF 270: that's how much a Swiss household plans to spend on toys for Christmas in 2018, almost exactly the same as last year (CHF 267). This average value has remained constant for several years. Interesting detail: this year, a full 33% of respondents said they would not spend any money on Christmas toy purchases. An increase of a whopping 7 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Black Friday is becoming increasingly important for the toy market
This year, the proportion of those who took advantage of Black Friday to shop for toys increased significantly once again. A total of 19% of respondents said they had used Black Friday to shop for toys. Black Friday has now also arrived in German-speaking Switzerland, with 18% toy shoppers. In French-speaking Switzerland, just under a quarter use Black Friday for bargain shopping.
Online portals are increasingly focusing on toys
The online offering for toys was significantly expanded in 2018, with a large number of portals now vying for shoppers. The increased supply is increasingly encouraging online-only shopping. 6.2 percent (previous year: 4.3 percent) of buyers stated that they shop exclusively online. We expect the online channel to become even more important in the coming years.
The timing of purchases continues to present a heterogeneous picture
The decision on when to buy toys is probably a question of mood. There are still those who make last-minute decisions, and 25% of respondents have bought little or nothing two weeks before Christmas. On the other hand, we are also seeing a trend towards deliberately waiting for top promotions. This is certainly encouraged by the predictability of Black Friday, for example.
