Sarah Jordan, CEO, with the holiday must-haves made by Mastermind Toys. Photo Credit: Mastermind Toys

🎁🧸 Mastermind Toys Releases Inaugural 2022 Canadian Play Report

Sunday, 20 November 2022 06:41.PM

Canada's Authority on Play Reveals 2022 Top Toy Trends and Holiday Shopping Insights -

Mastermind Toys, the nation's largest specialty toy and book retailer, releases its first annual Canadian Play Report, detailing the biggest toy trends of 2022, how consumers are shopping this holiday season and the current challenges facing the retail landscape. Historically, the toy industry and holiday shopping followed a pattern year after year, with Black Friday as the kick-off followed by a compressed buying period in December. However, driven by the pandemic and resultant supply chain constraints in 2020 and 2021, customers shopped much earlier to secure the toys and games on their wish lists. This year, while Canadians are anticipating the return of gatherings and celebrations, retailers are predicting the return of pre-pandemic shopping patterns for the holiday season.

"As the trendsetters in toys, we take great pride in curating our Holiday Play Guide based on the play patterns of the year and delivering wonder-filled experiences for our littlest customers," said Sarah Jordan, CEO of Mastermind Toys. "The holidays will often reveal how Canadians worked, lived, learned and played over the past 12 months and our 2022 Play Report reflects what our customers are experiencing. This year, we are seeing a return of holiday shopping starting later, customers turning to digital for the must-have items and inflation-concerned gift givers budgeting while still wanting to make the holidays a time of celebration and awe for kids."

Key insights in the 2022 Canadian Play Report include:

• Holiday shopping returns to pre-pandemic normal. In 2019, almost 50% of Mastermind Toys' and industry sales happened in October to December. This year, customers are back to waiting for "Black Friday" (more than a single-day event) as the kick-off to holiday shopping.
• The toy industry has been resilient. The $2.3 billion Canadian toy industry is historically strong, remaining flat or seeing low single-digit growth even during macro-economic challenges, which is consistent with the 2% growth experienced year-to-date October, according to The NPD Group L.P., Toys POS Tracking Service.
• Big-ticket items are bought early. On Mastermind Toys' monthly Grandparents Day signature event in October, the average transaction value (ATV) was over 60% higher than the rest of the month, as shoppers bought the big-ticket items early.
• Holiday must-haves are 3.5 times more likely to be bought through E-Commerce. For omni-channel retailers, 16% of toys are bought online, yet for the season's most popular items, like the Magic Mixies Crystal Ball, 60% of the retailer's purchases have been made on mastermindtoys.com.
• Customers are making their lists and checking them twice. Customers are shopping gifts under $25 almost twice as much as gifts under $50 at Mastermind Toys, as Canadians are focused on budgeting their holiday spend and as the average selling price of toys has increased by 29% in 2022 versus 2019, according to The NPD Group L.P., Toys POS Tracking Service.
• Outdoor is on top. Outdoor and sports toys were one quarter of all toy purchases, making this category the most important in the industry year-to-date, according to The NPD Group L.P., Toys POS Tracking Service.
• Gift cards are the safe choice. Giving the gift of choice through gift cards is a popular route for shoppers this year, especially for gift givers who don't know what to buy, with Mastermind Toys' sales of gift cards up over 40% versus last year.

"The toy industry continues to prove its resilience, with 2% growth year-to-date across 12 global markets," said Jeff Bowes, Director, Client Development at The NPD Group L.P. "Retail sales growth has accelerated across many industries NPD tracks over the past three years and Toys is no exception, growing 30% in global sales since 2019."

Against this backdrop, the Mastermind Toys 2022 Canadian Play Report provides a snapshot of the key shopping trends and retailer conditions this holiday season, and of course, the toy categories that made an impact this year, along with the retailer's top 10 "WooHoo Picks" of the season.

SOURCE: Mastermind Toys

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