U.S. Retail Imports Head Toward Lowest Number Since 2016

Source: Pixabay

As the toy industry looks to the back half of the year for a sales spike, new data is reflecting more of the challenges brought on by COVID-19.

The recent 16% spike for the toy industry was driven largely by sales of stock-on-hand, while individual toymakers have charted sales declines due in part to a reduction in orders of new product. This pattern extends to the rest of the consumer products and retail industry as a whole, as shown in the latest Global Port Tracker report issued by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

Retail shipments for June were up 4.9% from May, but down 10.5% from last year. Looking ahead with revised estimates for the rest of the year, NRF believes that retail shipments may wind up down 9.4% for 2020, which will result in the lowest number of imports since 2016.

“The economy is recovering but retailers are being careful not to import more than they can sell,” says NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold. “Shelves will be stocked, but this is not the year to be left with warehouses full of unsold merchandise. The more Congress does to put spending money in consumers’ pockets and provide businesses with liquidity, the sooner we can get back to normal.”

Peak season for retail imports is experienced in July to October as stores stock up for the holiday selling season.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.