No.3724
Toy Market Size (Total of 8 Categories) Continues to Grow, Reaching 443.7 Billion Yen in FY2023, Up 4.7% YoY
Toy Market in Japan: Key Research Findings 2024
Yano Research Institute (the President, Takashi Mizukoshi) has surveyed the domestic toy market and has found out the market trends, trends by category, trends of market players, and future outlook.
Market Overview
For FY2023, the domestic toy market size, a total of eight major categories, has reached 443.7 billion yen, up 4.7% YoY, and that contains a total of nine major categories including TV games has reached 783.7 billion yen, up 2.6% YoY, based on the domestic manufacturers shipment value.
Among the eight major categories, sales of girls' toys continued to be sluggish, as were sales of jigsaw puzzles which belong to the basic toy category. The stagnation in jigsaw puzzles was because of the disappearance of the surged at-home demand during the pandemic period.
On the other hand, plush toys showed a remarkable growth of 19.6% YoY. This stemmed from an updrift in price, the resumption of business at amusement parks and tourist attractions, and an increase in demand from inbound travelers. Trading cards are thriving with a steady stream of new title releases, boosting the sales of boys' toys by 9.3% and driving the entire eight major categories.
For TV games, which are included in the nine major categories, show steady growth in hardware, up 6.8% YoY, as supplies have returned due to the resolution of the semiconductor shortage issue and to the impact of price revisions, but decline in software sales, down 12.5% YoY, due to the lack of intriguing titles to drive sales.
*In this research, part of the trading card game market is included in the boys’ toy market.
Noteworthy Topics
The Toy Market Looks Promising, Attracting Demand from Both Inbound Tourists and Kidults
There is no denying that the toy industry is surrounded by a negative social and economic environment, such as a rapidly declining number of children and a lack of wage increases that should be proportionate to rising commodity prices. However, the domestic toy market seems to be able to keep on growing, as it attracts demand from inbound tourists as well as kidults, the combined term of children and adults, meaning adults who have the heart of children, which outweighs the negative factors.
Future Outlook
The toy market (based on the manufacturers' shipment value) is forecast to grow in FY2024, to 455.0 billion yen, up 2.5% YoY for the total of eight major categories, and to 800.0 billion yen, up 2.1% YoY for the total of nine major categories.
The trend by category does not seem to change from the previous fiscal year, as soft toys are expected to continue their prosperity, and as trading card games are projected to continue to boost sales of boys’ toys, although the momentum may slow.
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 expert researchers, surveys via telephone/email, and literature research
What is the Toy Market?
The toy market in this research refers to a market of the following nine major categories:
1) Electronic toys, 2) model building toys/toys for hobbies, 3) boys’ characters & toys, 4) girls’ characters & toys, 5) analog 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 shipment value of domestic manufacturers, which does not include toys for export. Capsule toys are not included in the nine major categories.
The details of nine categories are as follows:
1) Electronic toys: Electronic games, electronic soft toys, PC for children, smartphone-imitated toys, kinesthetic games
2) Toys for building scale models and toys for hobbies: Plastic models, radio control models, model guns, and other toys for hobbies
3) Boys’ characters & toys: Toy radio controls, other toys for boys (part of trading card games are included), among all the smartphone-imitated toys those featuring some characters are included
4) Girls’ characters & toys: Dress-up dolls and other toys for girls, among all the smartphone-imitated toys those featuring some characters are included
5) Analog games: Board games, analog games, general games
6) Seasonal toys: Traditional dolls and toys for seasonal events and festivals; fireworks, toys that use water (water pistols, etc.) and others
7) Basic toys: Intellectual training toys, toys for babies and infants, blocks, jigsaw puzzles, etc.
8) Stuffed toys and dolls: Soft toys or stuffed toys, dolls and others
9) TV games: TV game hardware, mobile game devices, TV game software (some online games are included)
＜Products and Services in the Market＞
Electronic toys, model building toys/toys for hobbies, boys’ characters & toys, girls’ characters & toys, analog games, seasonal & miscellaneous toys, basic toys (intellectual training toys, blocks, jigsaw puzzles, etc.,) soft or stuffed toys, and TV games.
Published Report
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