Toying Around With Holiday Spending: Half of Americans Will Buy Toys This Holiday Season
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But Two In Five Toy Purchasers Will Spend Less than Last Year
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Not halfway through November the commercials have started, and every parent has started to hear the strains of "I want that!" when a toy commercial hits the television screen. While most everyone enjoys the holiday season, it is an especially exciting time of year for kids. Unfortunately, the economic turndown has made this year more difficult for parents and those buying toys. Toy buying seems to have felt the impact, but hopefully the joy of children everywhere will not.
Half of Americans (54%) will be buying toys as gifts this year, up from 47% who said they would be buying toys last year. Among those who have children in their household, seven in ten (69%) will be buying toys this year and just under half of those in household without children will be buying toys this year (46%).
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll(R) of 2,293 adults surveyed online between October 5 and 12, 2009 by Harris Interactive(R).
Spending on toys compared to last year
Among those who intend to purchase toys this year, two in five (41%) say the amount they will spend on toys will be no different than last year and 16% of toy buyers say they will be spending more than last year. Two in five (39%) toy buyers, however, say that the amount they spend on toys will be less this year when compared to last year's amount.
In looking specifically at toy purchasers who have a child in the household, 45% say they will be spending less on toys this year compared to last year, while 37% will be spending about the same and 17% will be spending more.
What toys will be purchased this year
Traditional toys are still important, as just under half of toy purchasers (45%) say they will be buying children's books this year and almost half of those with children in the household will be purchasing books (48%). Video games are not forgotten; over one-third (36%) say they will be purchasing games for consoles this year, and this number jumps to almost half of those with children in the household (47%).
There are also more traditional toys being purchased, as three in ten toy buyers say they will be buying board games (30%), dolls (29%) and arts and crafts (28%). One in five toy buyers will purchase building blocks and bricks this year (21%), sports equipment (21%) and handheld electronic games (20%). Just one in ten (12%), however, say they will be purchasing game consoles this year.
TABLE 1
HOLIDAY TOY PURCHASING
"Thinking now of this holiday season, are you planning on purchasing toys as gifts this year?"
Base: All adults
Child in household
Total Households Households
with children without children
% % %
WILL PURCHASE (NET) 54 69 46
Definitely will purchase 26 38 20
Probably will purchase 28 31 27
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET) 36 22 43
Probably will not purchase 18 15 20
Definitely will not purchase 18 7 23
Not sure 10 9 10
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
% %
WILL PURCHASE (NET) 47 54
Definitely will purchase 19 26
Probably will purchase 28 28
WILL NOT PURCHASE (NET) 41 36
Probably will not purchase 22 18
Definitely will not purchase 19 18
Not sure 12 10
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
Child in household Household income
Total With Without $34.9k $35k - $50k -
$75k+
children children Or less $49.9k $74.9k
% % % % % % %
MORE THAN LAST YEAR 16 17 16 17 12 14 19
(NET)
Much more than last 4 5 3 3 4 3 4
year
Somewhat more than 12 12 13 14 7 11 15
last year
No different than 41 37 45 35 42 46 44
last year
LESS THAN LAST YEAR 39 45 35 44 44 37 35
(NET)
Somewhat less than 25 25 25 28 28 21 23
last year
Much less than last 14 20 10 17 16 16 12
year
Did not purchase toys 3 1 4 4 3 3 1
last year
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
% %
MORE THAN LAST YEAR (NET) 16 16
Much more than last year 2 4
Somewhat more than last year 13 12
No different than last year 36 41
LESS THAN LAST YEAR (NET) 44 39
Somewhat less than last year 26 25
Much less than last year 18 14
Did not purchase toys last year 4 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
Child in household Gender
Total With Without
Men Women
children children
% % % % %
Children's books 45 48 42 41 48
Games for consoles 36 47 28 40 32
Board games 30 38 23 27 33
Dolls 29 30 28 28 29
Arts and crafts 28 33 24 24 32
Building blocks and bricks 21 26 18 21 22
Sports equipment 21 26 17 28 15
Handheld electronic games 20 26 16 22 19
Game consoles 12 17 9 16 9
Something else 26 29 24 30 23
Not sure 21 15 26 20 22
Note: Multiple Responses Allowed
The Harris Poll(R) #128, November 12,
2009
By Regina A. Corso, Director, The Harris Poll
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States October 5 and 12, 2009 among 2,293 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.
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About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Source: Harris Interactive
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