Video Games Lead Global Toys and Games Industry Growth in 2017

According Euromonitor International, the toys and games industry grew 10 percent globally in 2017. Strong growth for the industry was led by the video games category at 15 percent—up from 7 percent last year.

“This double-digit growth is largely due to the launch of Nintendo Switch, which sold nearly 14 million units in the year,” says Matthew Hudak, senior toys and games analyst at Euromonitor International. “Core gamers and Nintendo fans drove demand for the Switch, meaning the system has yet to reach many children, and will likely become a greater source of competition for traditional toys in the future.” 

Though traditional toys registered its lowest global growth in three years at 3 percent, dolls and accessories was one of the fastest growing categories at 5.5 percent, thanks to the rising popularity of collectables.

Traditional toys continue to face channel distribution shifts. Though toys and games stores remain the largest global channel for traditional toys, distribution declined 7 percent from 2012 to 2017 whereas online retailers, the second largest global channel for traditional toys, saw 107 percent distribution growth during that same period.