One in three Britons spend more time playing board games now vs pre-lockdown, says NPD.
The NPD Group has today (April 30) released new data on the board game and toy playing habits of Brits and our European neighbours so far during the COVID-19 lockdown.
According to the latest consumer research, 31% said they had played with games and toys more since the start of lockdown. This compares to 37% in France and 27% in Germany. The growth of play is more marked among 18-34 year olds and parents of young children – 47% of both these groups said they’d spent more time on play. At 24%, the same is true of those without children too.
In addition, one quarter of Brits plans to buy toys and games before the end of lockdown, which is more than the Germans (18%) and the French (21%).
Sales of games and puzzles increased by 42% since the beginning of the year to April 18. They represent 13.2% of all toy sales by value, compared to 9.4% for the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, while board game sales dominated during the week pre-lockdown (peaking at 21% of total toy sales in between March 15-21), the outdoor category has been the largest by far since then, with 29.3% of sales and a spend of £7.7 million in the week of April 12-18.
That represents a growth of 1.7 points in market share compared to the same period last year.
“During lockdown, leisure and play activities have taken a central place in family life,” said Frédérique Tutt, global toy market expert for The NPD Group. “With the arrival of sunny days, parents want to see their children play outside and get fresh air where they can, especially if they are lucky enough to have a garden. This could continue if travel remains limited during the summer holidays.”
Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest by clicking here. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter and @licensing_source on Instagram.
