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More Than Half of Americans Plan Holiday Toy Purchase »
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More Than Half of Americans Plan Holiday Toy Purchase
Fifty-three percent of Americans say they are planning to purchase toys as holiday gifts this year, according to a new Harris Poll.
2 in 5 Will Not Buy Toys
In addition to the slightly more than half of Americans intending to buy toys during the 2010 holiday season, 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. In comparison, only 44% of those in a household without children plan to make a toy purchase.
Close to Half of Toy Purchasers Will Spend Same as Last Year
While more than two in five toy purchasers (44%) say their holiday toy spending will be no different than last year, more than 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 say they will (23%) will spend more than they did last year, more than 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.
Books, Games Most Popular
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% compared to 27%), video game consoles (16% compared to 9%) and, perhaps not surprisingly, sports equipment (29% compared to 12%).
While those in households without children have lower overall intent to purchase every category of toy, books are also most popular with these respondents, followed by video and board games tied for second place. The major difference in this respondent group is that arts and crafts are also tied for second place, with 24% saying they will purchase arts and crafts toys this holiday season.
Discounters Top Toy Destination
In terms of where these toy dollars will be spent, more than 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.
100% of Women Plan to Holiday Shop
One hundred percent of women surveyed plan to shop for the holidays this year, compared to 88% of men, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. Gift cards remain the most popular item consumers will give this holiday season (53%). Other popular items on gift lists include:
- Clothing/accessories (50%).
- Toys and games (36%).
- Electronics/Gadgets (34%).
- Books (31%).
- Music (29%).
About the Data: 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.
