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Tariffs are more than a buzzword. They have far-reaching impacts across many industries, with over 40% of Americans being ‘very’ concerned about the potential impacts on their budgets, especially with the holiday season approaching next quarter. One area that is particularly at risk is the toy industry. New data show that frequent buyers of major toy brands report much higher tariff anxieties than the Gen Pop.
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How Rising Costs Shape Toy Buying This Year
Although toys and games may rank among the top priority items for accelerated purchasing to beat rising costs, price pressures are shaping toy buying behavior in other ways, too—namely, waiting for sales and discounts. Over a third of consumers (36%) plan to wait for sales, mirroring the 33% of toy buyers who won’t start holiday shopping until the Black Friday–Cyber Monday window.
Another trend to watch among toy buyers is comparison shopping. Nearly one-quarter say they’ve done this more often in the past year due to rising prices. But why does this matter? Seventy-eight percent of toy buyers say they’ve researched a product on one online retail site, then purchased it on another site at least once or twice, with 21% doing this ‘a lot.’
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Near-Term Toy Buying Intent and Where Buyers Go to Research Purchases
A zoomed-in look at immediate children’s toy buying plans reveals roughly 4 in 10 U.S. adults are at least ‘somewhat’ likely to buy a children’s toy in the next 30 days. This percentage jumps to 64% and 54% among Gen Z aged 18-29 and Millennials aged 30-44, respectively, compared to 29% and 18% among Gen X aged 45-54, and Baby Boomers aged 65+. This is likely a combination of wanting to beat out price hikes and a general desire to buy toys for themselves or other adults. Near-term toy buyers are also more likely than the average U.S. toy buyer to say they typically spend between $51-$100 per toy (20% to 14%, respectively).
While those who buy toys in general and those with more immediate purchasing plans generally align on how they research toy purchases, there are noteworthy differences. Those looking to buy within the next month are slightly less likely to lean on online reviews, in-store testing, and demos. Instead, they are twice as likely to rely on unboxing videos online, highlighting another example of the growing pull of influencers. They’re also slightly more likely to seek word of mouth from friends and family.
Rising costs and tariff concerns are prompting toy buyers to delay purchases in search of sales and compare prices more frequently, making Black Friday and early Cyber Monday an even more critical window for gift buying among toy buyers than in previous years. Retailers can capitalize by emphasizing price-match policies and competitive promotions, while also engaging near-term buyers—particularly through influencer unboxing content and word-of-mouth—to reach those ready to spend now.
