Rory Partis at Circana looks at toy sales over the summer months and how both predictable and unpredictable factors come into play at this time of year.

In the July issue of Toy World, Rory explains that in addition to the spike in outdoor toy sales in the summer months, there are also other factors affecting sales including summer holidays, summer blockbuster movies and crazes in the pocket money space.

This year Building Sets, Plush and Strategic Trading Cards are trending, with a number of summer movie releases impacting toy licences and sales including Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the upcoming Barbie movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.

In terms of properties, Lego Minifigures were the fastest riser in May, moving up 109 places compared to April. This growth has been driven by Minifigures Disney 100, which were the No.3 item in value within the total UK toy market for the month of May.

The Fastest Growing Subclasses are topped by Strategic Trading Cards so far in 2023, and Pokémon continues to be the standout performer with growth also coming from both World Soccer and Match Attax. Traditional plush is the second top subclass for value add; Squishmallows continues to be the top driver of growth and is the second best performing property in the UK market in 2023, only outperformed by Pokémon. Building Sets takes third place, with Star Wars the top performer the top property in the total UK market in 2023. Other growing areas of the sub category include Marvel Universe, Lego Icons, Minecraft and Pokémon.

To read all of Rory’s insights, see the full article here.