Sales of licensed toys grow 3% in the US | Key4Communications |

U.S. retail sales of licensed toys grew 3% in 2013, to $5.3 billion, with licensed toys representing 29% of total brick-and-mortar toy dollar sales, and 23% of total online dollar sales, according to the NPD Group.

Among millennial females with children ages 2-12, 64% of respondents told NPD that their child has a particular brand or character they prefer. Children respond to the characters that are brought to life in animated movies, and the prevalence of those movies in 2013 clearly had an impact on sales of related licenses. The same holds true in the first quarter of 2014, where Disney’s Frozen is still reaping the benefits of the pre-Black Friday 2013 movie release.

In 2013, many of the animated movies were gender neutral, but Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, and Disney’s Planes released earlier in the year than Disney’s Frozen may have appealed more to boys. Boys who received licensed toys in the 3-11 age group accounted for 44% of all licensed dollar sales last year, while girls in the same age group represented just 26%.

Top licenses - Annual 2013
Cars The Movie
Disney Princess
Mickey & Friends
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Star Wars

Q1 2014
Disney Frozen
Disney Princess
Mickey & Friends
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Star Wars

Top growth licenses - Annual 2013
Despicable Me
Disney Planes
Doc McStuffins
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Sofia The First

Q1 2014
Despicable Me
DIsney Frozen
Disney Planes
Minecraft
Sofia the First