Traditional toys still popular

According to Mark Wood, GM general merchandise division buying division at Pick n Pay, "A significant percentage of our annual income from toy sales occurs over the festive season, so it's very important that we are able to increase our stock levels of traditional toys over this period, which requires highly accurate stock planning based on excellent market insight."

By using the insights gathered from its 7-million member smart shopper loyalty programme, the group is strategically stocking stores with the types and volumes of products that best suit the profile of customers, enabling them to maintain efficient stock levels. He says this is key to the success of traditional toy sales this year.

In terms of the most popular toy products for 2013, he says there are very few new toys coming into the market. "Instead, we have seen a revival of established products such as Furby, Techno Robot Dog and Superheroes - including Superman and Spiderman. There is also a growing trend towards creating traditional toys from on-line applications such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninjas, to name a few.

"When it comes to product selection for children between the ages of 3-7 years, we expect to see most retailers stocking Disney Planes toys. This is largely as a result of the recent launch of the Disney Planes DVD."

Meanwhile, children's educational ranges are still growing in this age group, with particular focus on children's laptops and electronic learning boards. The Leapfrog brand is also gaining momentum in this age group. "Interestingly, this is not strictly limited to the educational products and this age group is being introduced to gaming with the Leap Pad and the Leapfrog Explorer hand-held products."

The category of children between the ages of 8-12 years can be split into girls and boys as there are clear differences in the product preferences. In the 8-12 girls category, Barbie is still coming through very strongly, as well as the Monster High 13 wishes feature doll.

Bratz have refreshed the look of its doll and are focusing on reclaiming market share in the 11.5-inch doll category. Furby Interactive Plush is back on shelf, sporting fun bright colours in comparison to the original version.

"Following global trends, gaming products seem to be dominating in the 8-12 boys category. Superheroes such as Iron Man, Spiderman and Superman re-emerged this year with the launch of the movies and will still be popular for Christmas. Ninja Turtles is particularly strong this year - not only figurines, but also role-play sets and games," Woods concludes.