In this month’s Toy World issue, Rachael Simpson-Jones zoomed in on the Games and Puzzles category to see how it’s performing and where the best-sellers are.
The Games & Puzzles category continues to offer consumers affordable, enriching and fun ways to spend their spare time, be it alone or with friends and family. Rachael looked at how the sector is shaping up, which new releases are playing to win, and why consumer behaviour is causing some suppliers to work even harder on pricing, consumer engagement and more.
The Circana data for this category is interesting: the overall category is down -10% at the time of writing, but this figure is being driven by a double digit decline in Strategic Trading Card Games, which is over a third of the category and -20% so far this year (even with Pokémon the second-highest grower in the top 15 UK properties, at +14%). When you take Strategic Trading Card Games away, the other games categories combined are only down -4%: this is ahead of the overall market, which is currently down -6%. And several sub-categories are showing healthy growth, with straightforward Card Games up +6% (driven by sub-£10 games such as Uno, Monopoly Deal, Cartamundi’s Royal Flush Playing Cards and Asmodee’s Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza), Family Board/Action Games up +13% and Adult Games coming in hot with particularly impressive growth of +19%.
As we’re all aware, 2023 was a tricky year for the entire Toys & Games industry, not least of all because of the pressures on cash-strapped consumers. It’s unlikely these pressures are going to ease dramatically in 2024, meaning that for many, spending will remain constrained, and expenditure carefully considered. In order to get shoppers to part with their hard-earned cash this year, games and puzzles offerings must be truly compelling and offer excellent value for money.
Some companies are addressing the thorny issue of pricing by reducing the RRP. PlayMonster is one such company: its best-selling 5 Second Rule is back this year at a lower RRP of £14.99, and following the success of its relaunched Gooey Louie, Vivid Goliath is reducing the RRP on another of its games for this year: the family-friendly, food-stacking BBQ Party.
A night spent in playing board games with friends, or completing a jigsaw puzzle while listening to their favourite radio station, is likely to be a far cheaper way to pass the time than heading down the local or popping out for dinner and a show. Of course, playing games or building puzzles aren’t the only options for an affordable evening of entertainment, meaning they must win out over other choices.
To read the full feature from our April edition, which also includes contributions from Asmodee, Tomy, Hasbro, Mattel and University Games, click here.
