RESIDENTS in Spain will spend around €735 on Christmas, an increase of 15% on last year's festive season, according to a leading consumer organisation.
Shopping habits for children's Christmas gifts explored: What, why, how and where
08/11/2021
FAMILIES in Spain will be buying an average of 43% of their children's new toys online this Christmas and 'Three Kings' – a trend the pandemic started and which shows no signs of waning at present.
According to the Institute of Technology-AIJU for children's and leisure products in the 31st edition of its annual nationwide toy catalogue and shopping guide – for 2021 and 2022 – physical shops are selling less, but the toy trade is not suffering overall since online sales make up for this fall.
Interviewing 644 families with children aged from birth to 12, the AIJU study found that just over half, 51%, bought online because it was 'easier, more convenient and more comfortable' to get deliveries at their homes or workplaces.
The fact they 'waste less time' buying online than browsing in shops was cited as one of the main reasons by 42%, and the same number said items tended to be cheaper on websites than in actual high-street shops.
It seems the issue of possible Covid contagion by being out of the house is less of a worry for shoppers nowadays – 35% said buying on the internet meant they avoided crowds and did not have to concern themselves with precautions such as hand-sanitiser, social distancing, and mask-wearing.
It is likely the number would have been much higher a year ago, when vaccines were not yet available and cases were starting to spike again after a trough in summer.
Most families use a mix of internet versus high street
The survey identified four typologies when it came to families buying toys and other gifts for their children – the first of these made up 27% of the total and were those who bought practically everything from a physical shop, or 90% of goods on average.
About a third of the total, or 34%, tended to do both, but leaned more towards online buying; another 30% used both methods but were more likely to make purchases from physical shops, buying between 50% and 89% of toys on the high street.
Only 9% bought almost everything through the internet, or at least, on average 90% or more of their kids' gifts.
Although the research only concerned itself with children's toys, it is possible that the split could be extrapolated to shopping in general – at least for gift items or leisure goods such as music and books, which do not necessarily need to be seen or tried out as would be the case with clothing and footwear.
Types of toys and traders in online purchases
Toys mainly bought online were those designed for babies or toddlers, with 60% purchased via the internet compared with 40% in shops; this, however, might be due to the fact it is not as easy to 'get out and about' with a newborn baby or a very small child due to the logistics of sorting out prams or pushchairs, nappy supply, baby bottles and other essentials that need to be at hand in the earliest years of a child's life.
Fancy dress costumes and related accessories were also more likely to be bought online – 59% - which may be due to a greater range of choice or availability of sizes, whilst 54% of electronic or technology-based toys were purchased through the internet.
Toys bought in physical shops tended to be more 'portable', smaller, and more likely to be the result of children seeing them and wanting them there and then, such as teddies and other soft toys (87%), miniature model cars (83%), dolls or figurines (80%) and toys designed for outdoor use (82%).
Impulse buys were more common in physical shops, as would be expected – 79% of purchases were on a whim or the spur of the moment – with only 21% of online transactions being unplanned and spontaneous.
Online buying has also meant more second-hand goods have been given a new life, with 18% of families interviewed saying they had bought pre-loved toys from sites such as eBay and Wallapop.
Manufacturers and online retailers have said one of their main concerns is cheaper copies being sold, either declared to be replicas or passed off as the originals – in fact, 12% of families knowingly bought these, and another 13% say they have no idea whether what they buy is the genuine article or not.
Amazon is overwhelmingly popular with online toy-buyers – 89% have used the platform to do so – compared with 23% who have used websites for import stores such as Aliexpress, 20% who have used hypermarket or department store websites, and only 12% who have used online toy shops.
High-street retailers, especially small businesses, have long been worried about the impact of internet shopping on their trade, but solutions would seem to lie in these companies making their wares available online, using their physical shops as fulfilment centres or 'click-and-collect' venues for free rather than charging delivery, and not charging less online than on the premises.
Amazon acts as a channel for small retailers, sole traders and local businesses to sell to a wider audience, including overseas, meaning the global platform need not be a threat to high-street shops per se.
What toys reveal about 'Generation Alpha' kids' characters
The AIJU study identified seven profiles of children based upon the type of toys they play with, among those referred to as 'Generation Alpha' – born between 2010 and 2025, the oldest of whom would currently be 11 years old.
Those in the majority across Europe are the 'Affectionate Dreamers', fans of dolls, stuffed toys, arts and crafts, fancy-dress costumes, accessories, and imitation 'home-life' toys such as miniature kitchens or dolls' houses; the 'Experimental Makers', who preferred arts and crafts, science-based games, board games, music-related toys and 'building' toys such as Lego; and 'Remote Social Lovers', who were mainly into technology-based toys, video games and board games.
The other four profiles were named 'Creative Heroes', 'Humorous Champs', 'Notable Achievers' and 'Green Explorers'.
Related Topics
FAMILIES in Spain will be buying an average of 43% of their children's new toys online this Christmas and 'Three Kings' – a trend the pandemic started and which shows no signs of waning at present.
According to the Institute of Technology-AIJU for children's and leisure products in the 31st edition of its annual nationwide toy catalogue and shopping guide – for 2021 and 2022 – physical shops are selling less, but the toy trade is not suffering overall since online sales make up for this fall.
Interviewing 644 families with children aged from birth to 12, the AIJU study found that just over half, 51%, bought online because it was 'easier, more convenient and more comfortable' to get deliveries at their homes or workplaces.
The fact they 'waste less time' buying online than browsing in shops was cited as one of the main reasons by 42%, and the same number said items tended to be cheaper on websites than in actual high-street shops.
It seems the issue of possible Covid contagion by being out of the house is less of a worry for shoppers nowadays – 35% said buying on the internet meant they avoided crowds and did not have to concern themselves with precautions such as hand-sanitiser, social distancing, and mask-wearing.
It is likely the number would have been much higher a year ago, when vaccines were not yet available and cases were starting to spike again after a trough in summer.
Most families use a mix of internet versus high street
The survey identified four typologies when it came to families buying toys and other gifts for their children – the first of these made up 27% of the total and were those who bought practically everything from a physical shop, or 90% of goods on average.
About a third of the total, or 34%, tended to do both, but leaned more towards online buying; another 30% used both methods but were more likely to make purchases from physical shops, buying between 50% and 89% of toys on the high street.
Only 9% bought almost everything through the internet, or at least, on average 90% or more of their kids' gifts.
Although the research only concerned itself with children's toys, it is possible that the split could be extrapolated to shopping in general – at least for gift items or leisure goods such as music and books, which do not necessarily need to be seen or tried out as would be the case with clothing and footwear.
Types of toys and traders in online purchases
Toys mainly bought online were those designed for babies or toddlers, with 60% purchased via the internet compared with 40% in shops; this, however, might be due to the fact it is not as easy to 'get out and about' with a newborn baby or a very small child due to the logistics of sorting out prams or pushchairs, nappy supply, baby bottles and other essentials that need to be at hand in the earliest years of a child's life.
Fancy dress costumes and related accessories were also more likely to be bought online – 59% - which may be due to a greater range of choice or availability of sizes, whilst 54% of electronic or technology-based toys were purchased through the internet.
Toys bought in physical shops tended to be more 'portable', smaller, and more likely to be the result of children seeing them and wanting them there and then, such as teddies and other soft toys (87%), miniature model cars (83%), dolls or figurines (80%) and toys designed for outdoor use (82%).
Impulse buys were more common in physical shops, as would be expected – 79% of purchases were on a whim or the spur of the moment – with only 21% of online transactions being unplanned and spontaneous.
Online buying has also meant more second-hand goods have been given a new life, with 18% of families interviewed saying they had bought pre-loved toys from sites such as eBay and Wallapop.
Manufacturers and online retailers have said one of their main concerns is cheaper copies being sold, either declared to be replicas or passed off as the originals – in fact, 12% of families knowingly bought these, and another 13% say they have no idea whether what they buy is the genuine article or not.
Amazon is overwhelmingly popular with online toy-buyers – 89% have used the platform to do so – compared with 23% who have used websites for import stores such as Aliexpress, 20% who have used hypermarket or department store websites, and only 12% who have used online toy shops.
High-street retailers, especially small businesses, have long been worried about the impact of internet shopping on their trade, but solutions would seem to lie in these companies making their wares available online, using their physical shops as fulfilment centres or 'click-and-collect' venues for free rather than charging delivery, and not charging less online than on the premises.
Amazon acts as a channel for small retailers, sole traders and local businesses to sell to a wider audience, including overseas, meaning the global platform need not be a threat to high-street shops per se.
What toys reveal about 'Generation Alpha' kids' characters
The AIJU study identified seven profiles of children based upon the type of toys they play with, among those referred to as 'Generation Alpha' – born between 2010 and 2025, the oldest of whom would currently be 11 years old.
Those in the majority across Europe are the 'Affectionate Dreamers', fans of dolls, stuffed toys, arts and crafts, fancy-dress costumes, accessories, and imitation 'home-life' toys such as miniature kitchens or dolls' houses; the 'Experimental Makers', who preferred arts and crafts, science-based games, board games, music-related toys and 'building' toys such as Lego; and 'Remote Social Lovers', who were mainly into technology-based toys, video games and board games.
The other four profiles were named 'Creative Heroes', 'Humorous Champs', 'Notable Achievers' and 'Green Explorers'.
Related Topics
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