According to “Toy Purchase Decisions,” the latest report from market research company The NPD Group, the majority of toy purchases are planned, with buyers setting out knowing what toy they wanted and where they were going to purchase it. More than three-quarters of buyers who made a planned purchase said they knew specifically where they wanted to shop.
In terms of toy availability within a retail store, 42 percent of toy purchasers looking for a specific toy said they would look for that toy in a different store, and 9 percent would look online to purchase it if the toy they were looking for was not available. Only 22 percent of buyers claim they would look for a different product in the same store.
“The fact that there is less substitution of another item if the original item isn’t found is a real wake-up call for retailers, Anita Frazier, industry analyst at The NPD Group, said in a statement. “Picking the right product selection and then managing the inventory to keep those items in stock is more important than ever before.”