UK Toy Sales Hit a Decade High: What Britain's 13% Surge Tells Wholesale Buyers

What the numbers actually say

The growth is broad, not a single-category spike. Building sets rose 32% year to date, while Explorative and Other Toys — the category that includes squishies and stickers — led the market with 45% growth. Action figures and accessories were up 17%, plush toys 11%, outdoor and sports toys 9%, youth electronics 9% and vehicles 7%. Traditional games grew 17%, even though the wider Games and Puzzles category slipped 1%. Children are still the heart of the market. Sales of toys bought for under-12s grew 10% in the first half of the year and accounted for almost two-thirds (64%) of total toy sales. That matters because much of the recent industry conversation has focused on adults buying toys for themselves. The adult segment is real — sales to shoppers aged 12 and over grew 22% in the first half — but in Britain, children remain the majority of the market.

Screen-free play is the story, not connected toys

The figures arrive amid a growing public debate about children's screen time, and the data cuts one way. Connected toys account for less than 1% of UK toy sales. "Whether it's building, creating or imaginative play, children are still finding plenty of enjoyment away from screens," said Melissa Symonds, Circana's UK Toys Director. For buyers, that is a range-planning signal: the products winning shelf space are tactile, creative and collectible, not app-linked. Price sensitivity is the other half of the picture. BBC coverage of the same Circana data notes significant growth in toys priced between £5 and £10, as families keep a close eye on costs despite the strong year. The value price band is where volume is moving — a point that echoes the US market, where low-priced impulse and collectible formats have driven unit growth all year.

Christmas: two peaks to watch

The final three months of the year typically account for 45% of annual UK toy sales, so the festive period will decide how the year finishes. Last year, the biggest week for toy sales came just before Christmas (14–20 December), when shoppers spent £187 million on toys — £27 million a day, or 1,354 toys sold every minute. With Christmas Day falling on a Friday this year, Circana expects two shopping peaks: the final week of November, coinciding with the last payday before Christmas for many shoppers, and the weekend of 19–20 December, as families make their last purchases. Retailers heading into that window are doing so with sales already well ahead of last year.

What this means for a wholesale buyer

First, the UK and US data now tell the same story. The US market grew 20% over the same nine months, with squishies, collectibles and building sets leading. When two major markets grow double digits on the same categories, a spring 2027 range can be weighted with more confidence — squishy and sensory formats, building sets and traditional games, rather than a bet on a single trend. Second, plan for two buyers at once. Children are still the majority of UK demand, but adult buyers grew 22% in the first half. Packaging and display that speak to collectors and gift-givers as well as parents will cover more of the market than a range built for young children alone. Third, keep a value tier in the range. The £5–£10 band is where British shoppers are spending fastest, and it is the price point that brings volume through the door. A spring range without an entry tier misses the segment doing the most growing. Fourth, treat compliance as the entry ticket. The UK market is governed by the same safety expectations as the rest of Europe, and buyers sourcing for it should confirm EN 71 test reports and age-grade markings before ordering — the same discipline that protects a shipment in the US market, where battery compartments and small-parts rules have driven three toy recalls this month alone. Christmas stock is already largely in place, so this data is not a reorder trigger for the festive season. It is a planning document for the spring range — and on that front, Britain's decade-high growth gives buyers a second market's worth of evidence pointing in the same direction as the first.

About Hundred Power

Hundred Power Industries Limited, a Hong Kong-based toy exporter founded in 1992 with its own factory in Shenzhen and more than 15,000 SKUs across party supplies, glow toys and bubble toys, supplies wholesale buyers in North America and Europe.

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