Top 10 Emerging Toy Trends for Holiday 2012

If you have been to your favorite multi-purpose retailer recently, you've probably noticed that the school supplies are dwindling and the fall/holiday resets are well underway.  This means one thing: new toys are coming soon!

While the best is probably yet to come, here are my initial observations and biases about the toy-aisle transitions I have seen so far.  These aren't in precise order, but these are my top 10 observations based on recent trips to Target, Toys R Us and regional retailers.

1.  Ipad and Ipod enabled toys are coming on strong.
2.  Squishy, sparkly and cutesy collectibles are emerging in surprising amounts.
3.  Tiny is back in style.  Micro-sized cars and characters of all sorts are emerging in just about every toy category.  One of my favorite toys so far are some micro-sized rechargeable cars.  Watch for a blog post soon.
4.  Both new and old technologies are blending for surprising results.  On the new side, near field communications (NFC) chips are bringing toys to life, while old-school tech as simple as a magnetic switch are achieving the same results for less.  Unfortunately we will also see more voice bending and voice changing products this holiday season.
5.  With the exception of the upcoming Wii U, there's very little excitement in the video game space.
6.  Licensed products featuring Angry Birds and Angry Bird Space are arriving on the shelves in every conceivable manifestation.
7.  Those darned Hex bugs (toothbrush-like tiny robots) seem to be growing in prominence, commanding even more shelf-space than last year.
8.  Lots of new rolling stock.  Branded race track sets, roundish vehicles and ball bearing based cars are starting to appear.
9.  We might be seeing the start of a minor resurgence in board games, thanks in large part to the popularity of games like The Settlers of Catan.
10.  A ramp up in pocket sized fun for girls. Looks like there will be more pets, fairies, mermaids and tiny dolls than ever before, all value priced to maximize their consumption.

So far, no super hot toy has emerged as this season's must have sell-out, but I am keeping my eyes peeled.

A final note:  Although not quite a toy, just about every tablet other than the iPad seems to have been relegated to toy like status and are among the items on many kids (or parents) holiday wish list.  The three notable exceptions, all trying to fight for their tiny share of relevancy are: the Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Series and the Kindle Fire.

Watch for more toy news coming soon.

Ashley

New Hot Wheels Ballistiks: Round Cars

Angry Birds Licensing Galore

Tiny Is Back

 

LEGO Friends Kick Off The New Year!

It's been a long while since a major toy launch actually coincided with a calendar milestone like the New Year, but the LEGO Company has kicked off 2012 with a new line of products for girls called LEGO Friends.

The new LEGO Friends line differs from traditional "boy-themed" LEGO sets in that the themes, packaging and even the little people inside (now called mini-dolls) have been specifically formulated for girls.  According to the LEGO Company, they did the most extensive research ever for a product of this nature and learned that girls did not like--or could not relate to--the little people so popular with boys, so they completely redesigned them.  The new sets feature more realistic, customizable and slightly taller female figures with simple names like Emma, Olivia and Andrea.

Fourteen new sets launched at the start of the year, centered around the fictional, "Heartlake City," a diverse and friendly town that looks like the start of a multi-track storyline for the 29 Friends characters LEGO will reportedly launch by year end.

Among the new sets are a two story town house, an outdoor cafe, a veterinary clinic and a beauty shop. The sets feature new packaging, new LEGO brick colors including various pinks and purples and many new elements such as birds and animals.


Despite the LEGO Company's best effort to both pre-announce and pre-handle potential criticism about gender stereotyping and marketing, groups from across the US have already begun to mobilize and complain that the LEGO Company should make products that are gender neutral. Some over the top parents have even called the new line disgusting.  This is unfortunate as the LEGO Company made it clear in their press statements that extensive research went into their products and that both girls and moms worldwide liked the lineup.  It looks once again like we have a case where the noisy internet and a few unhappy folks would have us believe the whole world is against tiny, happy bricks.

I am siding with the LEGO Company on this one.   I have a daughter and hope one day she is a strong mother, leader or innovator (or whatever SHE wants to be).  Perhaps my daughter will become a CEO or even a future president.  I seriously doubt playing with pink LEGO bricks and pretending to own or work in a hair salon will hold her back

I wish the LEGO Company the best of luck with this product.  I went out and bought four of the LEGO sets to show my support.

Ashley

New LEGO Friends Packaging.  January 2012.

Business Week Story on the launch of LEGO Friends

UPDATE: Jan. 24, 2012
Target stores recently updated their seasonal, Valentine's day area with a polybag set featuring a mini-doll at a mailbox.  The set cost $3.99 and has 41 pieces.

Seasonal Polybag set from Target.  January 2012.