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Roughly 29% of the top 2018 holiday toys are licensed, according to lists created by Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Kmart.
In 2017, retail sales of licensed toys/games sank -4.4% to $7.7 billion in the U.S./Canada, according to TLL’s Annual Licensing Business Survey. This was largely due to the impact of the Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy, but other contributing factors included an increased interest in owned-brand collectibles and traditional toys/games.
Kmart’s Fab 15 has the highest share of licensed toys on its holiday toys list, followed by Target (25%), Walmart (23%), and Amazon (20%). Counting all 111 toys, including duplicates, 25% of the top holiday toys of 2018 are licensed. This is a marked downturn from last year’s lists, of which roughly one-third of top holiday toys were licensed, and 2016’s lists, of which roughly half were licensed.
Roughly 26% of Target’s list and 23% of Walmart’s list counts retailer exclusive offerings.
Paw Patrol and other preschool properties were out on top, with Paw Patrol alone making up 15% of all licensed offerings. Disney’s Mickey, Minnie & Friends brands as well as Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter were second at 11% each. Other brands with two mentions each were Marvel Avengers, Jurassic World, and Beyblade.
The rest, with only one mention, in no particular order are: Incredibles 2, Skee-Ball, Star Wars, Sunny Day, Sesame Street, Batman, Ryan’s World, Nella the Princess, PJ Masks, Unikitty, and Vampirina.
The most popular manufacturers amongst the four lists are Hasbro (21% of all 111 toys incl. duplications), MGA Entertainment (10%), Mattel (9%), and Spin Master (7%). Kmart is the only retailer to heavily feature Just Play and, likewise, Walmart the only one for Jakks Pacific.
Note: ‡Licensed offering. °Retailer exclusive. | |||||
Walmart’s Top Rated by Kids Toy List | Target Bullseye’s Top Toys | Amazon Top 25 Toy List | Kmart’s Fab 15 List | ||
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Air Hogs Supernova (Spin Master) | Baby Alive Sweet Spoonfuls Doll° (Hasbro) | Baby Alive Potty Dance Baby (Hasbro) | 2018 Holiday Barbie (Mattel) | ||
All Star Hoverboard° | Barbie Dreamhouse (Mattel) | Barbie Care Clinic Vehicle (Mattel) | Baby Alive Potty Dance Baby (Hasbro) | ||
Barbie Dreamhouse (Mattel) | Beyblade Ultimate Tournament Collection‡ (Hasbro) | Cozmo Robot (Anki) | Barbie Dreamhouse (Mattel) | ||
Disney Princess Rapunzel Tower Vanity° | Boxer Interactive A.I. Robot (Spin Master) | Don’t Step In It Game, Unicorn Edition (Hasbro) | Beyblade SwitchStrike Battle Tower‡ (Hasbro) | ||
Drone Force Terrasect RC | Buffalo Games Skee-Ball‡° | furrREAL Munchin’ Rex (Hasbro) | Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Diggity Dancing Mickey‡ (Just Play) | ||
Fingerlings Hugs (WowWee) | Cool Maker KumiKreator (Spin Master) | Hasbro Gaming Monopoly Cheaters Edition Family | Disney Sing and Spin Scooter Minnie‡ (Just Play) | ||
Fischer-Price Imaginext Jurassic World Rex‡ | Fingerlings Interactive Plush Monkey (WowWee) | Hot Wheels Corkscrew Crash Track Set (Mattel) | Hairdorables (Just Play) | ||
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn 3-in-1 Smart Car (Hasbro) | Fischer-Price Imaginext Jurassic World Rex‡ | Kano Harry Potter Coding Kit‡ | Hot Wheels Mega Garage (Mattel) | ||
Fisher-Price Little People Take Turns Skyway (Hasbro) | Fisher-Price Smart Learning Home (Hasbro) | L.O.L Surprise! Surprise House (MGA Entertainment) | L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise! (MGA) | ||
Harry Potter Wizard Training Wands‡ (Jakks Pacific) | Fisher-Price Think & Learn Rocktopus (Hasbro) | L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise! (MGA) | LEGO Super Heroes The Hulkbuster Smash‡ | ||
Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage° (Mattel) | furReal Rock-A-Too the Show Bird° (Hasbro) | L.O.L. Surprise! Glam Glitter Series Doll (MGA) | Monopoly Cheaters Edition (Hasbro) | ||
Incredibles 2 Jack Jack Doll‡ (Jakks Pacific) | Hatchimals HatchiBabies (Spin Master) | Lego Boost Creative Toolbox | Nerf Rival Prometheus (Hasbro) | ||
Kumi Kreator (Spin Master) | Hot Wheels Gator Car Wash (Mattel) | LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall Building Kit‡ | Ready2Robot Battle Pack (MGA) | ||
L.O.L. Surprise House (MGA) | Jetson Rogue Hoverboard° | Little Live Scruff-A-Luvs (Moose Toys) | Sunny Day– Sunny’s Styling Head‡ (Fisher-Price/Hasbro) | ||
LEGO Creator Pirate Roller Coaster | L.O.L. Surprise! Bigger Surprise! (MGA) | littleBits Avengers Hero Inventor Kit‡ | Vampirina Rock N’ Jam Touring Van‡ (Just Play) | ||
Little Live Pets Rollie My Kissing Puppy (Moose Toys) | LEGO Super Heroes App-Controlled Batmobile‡ | Melissa & Doug Examine & Treat Pet Vet Play Set | |||
Little Live Pets Wrapples (Moose Toys) | LEGO Unikitty Unikingdom Fairground Fun‡ | Moj Moj Claw Machine (MGA Entertainment) | |||
Little Tikes STEM Jr. Wonder Lab (MGA Entertainment) | Lupita Doll & Book Set° | Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K (Hasbro) | |||
Lost Kitties (Hasbro) | Melissa & Doug Deluxe Play Store | Osmo Genius Kit for Fire Tablet° and iPad | |||
Moj Moj Claw Machine (MGA Entertainment) | Nella the Princess Knight Transforming Princess Knight‡° (Vivid Toy) | Ozobot Bit Coding Robot | |||
Nerf Laser Ops 2 Pack (Hasbro) | NERF Laser Ops Pro (Hasbro) | Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck‡ (Spin Master) | |||
Num Nom Silly Shakers Maker (MGA Entertainment) | Nintendo Switch | Pomsies Patches Plush Interactive Toys | |||
Paw Patrol Fire Truck Ride-On‡° | Our Generation Doll School Room° | Radio Flyer My 1st Wagon | |||
Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck‡ (Spin Master) | Party PopTeenies Mega Party Surprise Set° | Star Wars FurReal Ultimate Co-Pilot Chewie Interactive‡ (Hasbro) | |||
Peppa Pig Fun Fair Playset‡° (Jazwares) | Paw Patrol Ultimate Fire Truck‡ (Spin Master) | You’ve Got Crabs (Exploding Kittens) | |||
Pikmi Pops Super Flip (Moose Toys) | Pikmi Pops Unicorn Super Flip° (Moose Toys) | ||||
PJ Masks Romeo’s Lab Playset‡ | Really Rad Robots MiBRO R/C Robot | ||||
Playmobil Hidden Temple with T-Rex | Sesame Street Let’s Dance Elmo‡ (Hasbro) | ||||
Polaris 1.5 RC° | Super Crate Creatures Surprise | ||||
Power Wheels Barbie Dream Camper° (Mattel) | Transformers Power Charge Bumblebee (Hasbro) | ||||
Razor Ultra Spark Scooter | Viro Rides 550e Electric Scooter | ||||
Really Rad Robots Mi-Bro (Moose Toys) | YULU Tic Tac Tongue° | ||||
Rideamals Scout Interactive Pony° | |||||
Ryan’s World Giant Mystery Egg‡ (Pocket.watch) | |||||
Sing & Spin Scooter Minnie‡ | |||||
Trail Buster RC° | |||||
Treasure X Single Pack (Moose Toys) | |||||
VTech Explore & Write Activity Desk | |||||
Zoom Tubes Car Trax |