The Cost of Having Fun - Spending On Toys And Crafts

Buying and playing with toys is a popular activity in the United States. In the past, the toy industry considered children from birth to age fourteen as its prime audience. Today, the prime toy-purchasing years are birth to ten years of age.

While some toys may sell very well one year and then disappear the next, other toys sell consistently from year to year. These enduringly popular best-sellers are the basis of the toy business and include games (such as Monopoly and Scrabble) and preschool and infant toys such as plush stuffed animals and trains.

The United States is the largest market for toys in the world, followed by western Europe, Asia, and Japan. U.S. toy sales in 2003 declined to $30.7 billion from $31.6 billion

TABLE 2.8

Toy industry sales, 2002–03
Supercategory	Annual 2002	Annual 2003	Percent change
Note: There may be variances due to rounding.
SOURCE: The NPD Group/NPD Funworld/Consumer Panel, 2003 vs. 2002 State of the Industry, Toy Industry Association, Inc., http://www.toy–tia.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Press_Room/Statistics3/State_of_the_Industry/State_of_the_Industry.htm (accessed July 10, 2004)
Action figures and accessories	$1.4B	$1.2B	−14.6
Arts and crafts	$2.3B	$2.4B	5.1
Building sets	$766M	$625M	−18.4
Dolls	$2.7B	$2.8B	3.5
Games/puzzles	$2.2B	$2.4B	10.8
Infant/preschool	$2.9B	$2.6B	−11.7
Learning and exploration	$473M	$477M	0.9
Outdoor and sports toys	$2.5B	$2.4B	−5.3
Plush	$1.5B	$1.4B	−5.5
Vehicles	$2.2B	$2.0B	−11.1
All other toys	$2.4B	$2.5B	2.8
Total traditional toy industry	$21.3B	$20.7B	−2.9
Video games	$10.3B	$10.0B	−2.8

in 2002. In 2003 the leading category in toy sales, as reported by the Toy Industry Association, was video games ($10 billion). Other strong sellers were dolls/accessories ($2.8 billion), infant/preschool toys ($2.6 billion), arts and crafts for children ($2.4 billion), games/puzzles ($2.4 billion), vehicles ($2 billion), plush stuffed toys ($1.4 billion), and action figures/accessories ($1.2 billion). (See Table 2.8.)

Spending on crafts and hobbies grew to $29 billion in 2002, up from $25.7 billion in 2001, according to the Hobby Industry Association (www.hobby.org). Needlecrafts, painting and finishing supplies, floral crafts, and general crafts all experienced increased sales. According to statistics presented on the Hobby Industry Association Web site, more than 80% of households have "at least one family member engaged in crafts/hobbies," and the average crafter spends about 7.5 hours per week on his or her hobby.