In this month’s Toy World issue, Rick Derr of Learning Express Toys in the US, talks about the infant category in his store.

While the infant market is a small proportion of overall business at Learning Express, Rick notes that gaining and keeping these customers is essential in the long term.

“I receive more baby product inquiries and solicitations than any other category in the toy/gift industry,” he explains. “Suppliers are often surprised to hear that the infant category is a very small sliver of our product curation. Not because these aren’t great products or ideas, but rather the audience we attract is not the baby/infant market. The real age for us to “kick in” is around 12-18 months, or that first birthday. Yes, we will sell a core of infant items (the top sellers being a product called SmartNoggin Stik and personalised enamel piggy banks which are a popular gift item), but outside of that the market is small and just does not turn quickly enough to justify the space.

Rick notes that the characteristics of the infant market are very different than they used to be, with a larger percentage of babies being born to older and more financially well-off parents, and a grandparent base with a lot of money to spend on fewer grandchildren.

“We saw it during the Covid years with this group,” he says. “If you think of babies as future consumers, they are attractive customers, especially for indie toy/gift shops. The attraction is fewer kids but spending more; fewer transactions but higher ticket averages.”

To read the rest of Rick’s insights on the sector in the US and how his store is performing, click here for the full article, which appeared in the April edition of Toy World.