Amazon Reveals the Best-selling Holiday Toys and Trends of 2018

As an unusual year comes to a close, holiday data is starting to come in. One retailer quick to jump out in front of things is Amazon. Following 30 percent year-over-year growth in the third quarter and with 18 million toys shipped during Black Friday weekend, Amazon touts a “record-breaking year” in which the company shipped more items worldwide during the holiday season than ever before. One point of interest is the annual list of their top five best-selling toys in the U.S. and worldwide, a list toplined by MGA Entertainment‘s L.O.L. Surprise! dolls.

2018 Holiday Toys: Amazon Best-sellers

L.O.L. Surprise! Glam Glitter Series Doll with 7 Surprises
Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster
Melissa & Doug Scratch Art Rainbow Mini Notes with Wooden Stylus
Crayola Inspiration Art Case
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Mighty Dinosaurs (31058)

What all of these toys have in common is a price point below $15.

L.O.L. Surprise! also performed well at Amazon’s physical retail outposts, with products nabbing spots on the top five lists at both Amazon 4-Star (L.O.L. Surprise! Under Wraps Series) and Amazon Books (L.O.L. Surprise! Bling Series).

The Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition and Fire Kids Editions tablets were among the “millions more” Amazon Devices shipped this season. The devices are home to the FreeTime Unlimited Platform, through which hundreds of content providers including Disney, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon reach a mobile audience.

Amazon’s full holiday data is available here.

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.