In 2019, Collectibles continued to dominate the market, with sales equivalent to 21% of all toys sold.

Despite being responsible for one in five toys sold in 2019, the Collectibles category declined by 12% last year. Interestingly, products under £5 represented the biggest decline, as the average price of a collectible rose to £5.92. It seems that for many consumers, a small cheap lump of plastic in a blind bag is no longer enough: the trend appears to be moving towards higher quality collectibles with more added value by way of accessories, play sets or packaging which can be incorporated into the play pattern.

The appropriately named Wow! Stuff launched Wow! Pods in January. These innovative collectibles make use of a nifty tech element to offer fans of character brands a totally new way to collect and display their favourite characters. A swipe-to-light function and interlocking hexagonal casing means kids can personalise their displays exactly the way they want them. Wow! Stuff is no stranger to bringing cutting edge play patterns to market – this is the company behind the multi award-winning Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak, after all – and reaction from trade shows earlier in the year, and from retailers, suggest that Wow! Pods is another sure-fire winner.

“We are keen to uphold our position as a first port of call for Tier 1 licensed brands looking for innovation in toys,” Wow! Stuff CEO Richard North told Toy World. “When entering the collectibles market, we didn’t want to create a ‘samey’ item. Our mission at Wow! Stuff has always been to create a ‘wow’ reaction from the end user. We wanted to utilise the licensed brand relationships we have developed over the years and disrupt the collectibles market with something really new, different and exciting. The reaction when a kid swipes to light the Pop delivers on the wow reaction we were hoping for.”

To read the full article, which was published in the April issue of Toy World, click here.