Good News for STEM Toys, Jigsaws Still Battling

In years gone by, simple toys like dolls and teddy bears would suffice for the nation’s children but this is no longer the case. In Russia, it is believed that over one-quarter of all toys are constructions sets and the ‘STEM’ products.

As they attempt to combine fun with education, STEM toys - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math - are now more popular than ever before. For example, science experiment kits and junior lab sets both fall into this category as they introduce important topics to kids of all ages.

At the beginning of 2016, the toy market saw bad news in that sales had fallen by a whopping 20% in quantity and around 8% in value. As incomes have decreased over time and prices have increased for the consumers, people have less money to treat their children with toys. In the past, imported toys were the largest segment of the market but this is now changing and locally-produced toys even saw an increase in share to 20% this year so far. Just two years ago, this same figure was half this amount.

During the downward spiralling market, constructions sets have held their position with many parents believing them to stimulate the child’s mind and help with core skills such as hand-eye coordination. Between January and June, sales have actually been predicted as a huge rise by 33%. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, prices in these toys have actually risen 20% higher than other toys.

As mentioned previously, parents have been behind this rise in sales choosing to go for construction sets and the like rather than the more expensive Nintendo items. As well as constructions sets, there has also been a notable increase in sales for the ‘combination’ sets which mix together traditional toys with construction set frameworks. For example, model farm and airport kits both fall into this category.

As prices continue to rise, old-style toys such as jigsaws and puzzles are battling away within the market and have found popularity recently thanks to their affordability. For the parents, there is also a nostalgic factor that comes into play. For just $3 and $9 respectively, jigsaws and board games are being bought locally too which indicates that imported items may make an attempt to take over in the near future.

In 2016, construction sets hold the majority of the market with 25% whilst dolls hold around 19%. In third place, outdoor games and sporting goods have 14% of the market but this is expected to grow whilst demand for dolls drop which could see a swap in position next year. In the rest of the market, you can find model cars (12%), hobby sector (7%), action figures from TV and film (6%), jigsaws and puzzles (6%), soft toys (4%), and electronic items that are child-friendly (2%).