Brits spend an average of £159 on a newborn’s toys in their first year

In the UK, an average of £159 is spent on a newborn’s toys such as playmats, gyms, infant plush, rattles, teethers and soft toys in their first year, reports The NPD Group.

In a baby’s second year, the average spent on toys rises to £208, so by baby’s second birthday the total average amount spent on toys is £367.

For more than half of toys bought for a newborn, parents and gift givers were primarily influenced by a promotion or discount, and this factor was a secondary influence for 29%, even though the average price spent on those toys is only £11.15.

The top-selling Infant/Toddler toy is VTech’s First Steps Baby Walker, which retails for around £24, while Fisher-Price’s Laugh & Learn Smart Stages First Words Puppy, the best new toy in the category, is selling for around £15.

In the first year, parents account for 39% of the overall spend on toys for baby, and grandparents for 30%. Parents buy more than one-third of their baby toys online, while grandparents prefer to shop in store.

Elsewhere, NPD predicts connected story-telling toys, like the Toniebox, are an emerging trend in the toddler space, having already made an impact in France and Germany last year.

“Toys and play are synonymous with key milestones in early learning, from lying down and discovering the world to sitting stages, crawling, walking and talking so there’s a significant focus on development and learning in the top 10 best-selling baby and toddler toys,” said Frederique Tutt, Global Industry Analyst, Toys, NPD.

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