When it comes to getting value from toys, the demand from parents goes way beyond the price tag, according to the latest data from The Insights Family
The child influences. The parent decides. That dynamic has always defined the toy and play category. What the latest data from The Insights Family in their latest column for TnP makes clear is that the criteria parents use to say yes has moved on.
Seventy per cent of UK parents say “good value for money” is a key factor in their purchase decisions. That number is consistent, but what has changed is what parents mean by value.
Parents are asking questions that go beyond the price tag. Does this help my child develop? Does it create shared experiences? Is it safe? Is it high quality? And increasingly, will they still be playing with it in six months, or will it be forgotten within a week?
While families are not pulling back from spending altogether, they are becoming more selective about where their money goes. The fastest-growing purchase drivers in the UK data back that up. Active play (+8.4 per cent), cognitive skills (+10.5 per cent) and independence-building (+9.5 per cent) are all up year-on-year as parent purchase motivators. Safety and quality are now the baseline expectation for any product in this category. What parents are increasingly looking for is what sits above that baseline: the outcomes the product delivers.
Read the full column below: https://issuu.com/lemapublisihng/docs/toys_n_playthings_june_2026/40
