No.2890
Toy Market in Japan: Key Research Findings 2021
Market of Jigsaw Puzzles, Toys for Building Scale Models/Toys for Hobbies, and Analogue Games Expanded in FY2020 due to “Stay-home Demand”
Yano Research Institute (the President, Takashi Mizukoshi) carried out a survey on the domestic toy market and found out the trends by category, the trends of market players, and the future perspectives.
Market Overview
The domestic market size of total major 9 categories of toys for FY2020 increased by 13.4% from the previous fiscal year to 726,200 million yen (based on the shipment value at manufacturers). The market size of total major 8 categories (excluding TV games) was valued at 341,200 million yen, also showing a rise by 1.8% from the preceding fiscal year.
In view of the major 8 categories, 3 categories recorded a double-digit growth: Jigsaw puzzles grew by 61.6% from the previous fiscal year, toys for building scale models/toys for hobbies by 16.0%, and analogue games by 15.0%. Hampered by the lack of megahit items, the boys’ characters & toys market, which represents approximately 12 % of the market share, continues to indicate declining trend, although regular products like trading card games sold well.
The market of major 9 categories including TV games has expanded, because of the release of new TV game hardware in addition to the favorable “at-home” demand.
Noteworthy Topics
Toys Industry Taking Initiatives for Achieving a Sustainable Society
Increased focus on sustainable business is seen across the industry, and the situation has driven enterprises in toys industry to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability as well.
In addition to the reduction of plastic waste, increase in percentage of recycled materials, and reuse/recycle of resources, there are attempts unique to the industry. For the future of children, the main customer of the industry, each company is promoting programs aimed at achieving a sustainable society: For instance, some organizes an educational program that teach children about resource recycling through playing with toys; others provide trade-in for used toys.
Future Outlook
The domestic market size of total major 9 categories of toys for FY2021 is projected to rise by 3.4% from the previous fiscal year to attain 750,900 million yen (based on the shipment values at manufacturers). The market size of total major 8 categories (excluding TV games) is also expected to rise by 7.2% to reach 365,900 million yen.
Demand continues to rise for toys for building scale models/toys for hobbies. Moreover, considering the brisk sales of trading card games, the boys’ characters & toys market is also projected to grow.
Research Outline
2.Research Object： Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of toys, toys for building scale models/toys for hobbies, TV gaming contents manufacturers, etc.
3.Research Methogology： Face-to-face interviews by the specialized researchers (including online interviews), surveys via telephone/email, and literature research
The toy market in this research refers to a market of the following major nine categories:
1) Electronic toys, 2) toys for building scale models/toys for hobbies, 3) boys’ characters & toys, 4) girls’ characters & toys, 5) analogue games, 6) seasonal & miscellaneous toys, 7) basic toys (intellectual training toys, blocks, jigsaw puzzles, etc.,) 8) soft or stuffed toys, and 9) TV games. The market size is based on the domestic shipment values at manufacturers, without that for exports.
High targeted toys are overall toys targeting adults, generally that drives nostalgia, and are included in each of major 8 categories, except for TV games. Toys packaged with confectionaries, toys in capsules, and figure toys are not included in the major 9 categories.
The details of 9 categories are as follows:
1) Electronic toys: Electronic games, electronic soft toys, PC for kids, smartphone-imitated toys, kinesthetic games (high targeted toys included)
2) Toys for building scale models and toys for hobbies: Plastic models, radio control models, model guns, and other toys for hobbies (high targeted toys included)
3) Boys’ characters & toys: Toy radio controls, other toys for boys (trading card games and high-targeted toys are included), among all the smartphone-imitated toys those featuring some characters are included
4) Girls’ characters & toys: Dress-up dolls, other toys for girls (including high targeted toys,) among all the smartphone-imitated toys those featuring some characters are included
5) Analog games: Board games, analogue games, general games (high targeted toys included)
6) Seasonal toys: Traditional dolls and toys for seasonal event and festivals; fireworks, etc.
7) Basic toys: Intellectual training toys, toys for babies and infants, blocks, jigsaw puzzles, etc. (high targeted toys included)
8) Stuffed toys and dolls: Soft toys or stuffed toys, dolls and others (high-targeted toys included)
9) TV games: TV game hardware, mobile game devices, TV game software (some online games included)
＜Products and Services in the Market＞
Electronic toys, toys for building scale models/toys for hobbies, boys’ characters & toys, girls’ characters & toys, analogue games, seasonal & miscellaneous toys, basic toys (intellectual training toys, blocks, jigsaw puzzles, etc.,) soft or stuffed toys, TV games, toys packaged with confectioneries, toys in capsules, figure toys, railway models, trading card games
Published Report
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