The Rise of Gaming in Kids’ Increasingly Fragmented Ecosystem
by NICK RICHARDSON, CEO, The Insights Family
The Insight Family’s latest Kids Insights U.S. digital download report is based on the results of surveying 4,102 kids between December 2020-February 2021. It focuses on the attitudes, behaviors, and consumption patterns within the digital world of kids’ lives, highlighting the implications for the industry and identifying the next big trends.
The events of 2020 changed the way in which kids explore and consume digital content and fragmented their attention across several different platforms. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the amount of time kids under age 13 spent watching TV increased by an average of 7 minutes per day — the equivalent of an extra 42.5 hours per year.
However, the pandemic caused another trend to explode in popularity worldwide. Prior to the pandemic, kids under age 13 spent 46 minutes a day playing video games. Last year, this increased 24% to 57 minutes.
The gaming explosion has been fueled by popular new titles, including Among Us, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. It’s also changing the way that kids interact with their favorite brands and characters across the “metaverse.” Our data also shows that younger parents who grew up gaming are passing this hobby down to their kids, teaching them about the world of gaming, and participating as a family pastime.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
As video games have become more popular over the last year, the opportunities they create for the wider kids’ ecosystem increase.
For example, in the U.S., the number of kids ages 3-9 that reportedly purchased a licensed toy related to their favorite video game has grown 10% since the first quarter of last year. There has also been a 44% increase in gaming-related toy purchases for tweens.
Interestingly, our data shows that kids ages 3-12 who report playing video games as their favorite hobby are much more likely to say LEGO (62%) and NERF (70%) are the toys they want to purchase, solidifying the strong licensing potential for collaboration in the construction and action categories as we’ve seen in recent months, such as the NERF and L.O.L. Surprise! partnerships within Roblox.
All of this data and our real-time media tools can be viewed together in one digital platform. The Insights Family released the latest iteration of its award-winning Portal 4.0, including 11 new features for all its users, such as application programming interface (API) data from third parties built into the portal, along with Trend Tracker, Persona Perspectives, Country Context Tool, and many more. One of these features is the innovative, real-time media planning tool, Media Mix Compass.
For more information and to receive complimentary access to the tool and a copy of an example report, visit theinsightsfamily.com. You can also visit try.theinsightsfamily.com/toybook to learn more about the attitudes, behavior, and consumption patterns of kids, parents, and families, and to get freemium access to The Insights Family real-time data portal.
This article was originally published in the June 2021 edition of the Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue!
