Sales of licensed products for kids show growth in the US | Key4Communications | News

Sales of licensed products for kids in the US experienced an increase in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, from $5.6 billion to $5.8 billion, according to The NPD Group. The franchises experiencing the most growth for kids included (in alphabetical order) Cars: The Movie, Hello Kitty & Friends, Mickey and Friends, and Transformers.

Non-licensed products saw a slight decline to $18 billion versus $18.1 billion generated during the same time period last year.

According to The NPD Group US consumers spent $24 billion on products for kids from birth to 14 years, with apparel and accessories, arts & crafts, consumer electronics, health & beauty, and sporting goods also showing increases.

Apparel and accessories was the category that experienced the most growth, increasing 1.3% to over $8.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year. In spite of this growth, apparel was one of the categories that kids were least likely to ask for, second only to baby/infant products. Video game software, video game hardware, and consumer electronics were categories that ranked as some of the highest for products requested by children

When looking at revenue for requested products, growth was propelled by kids ages 6-8 and 12-14. All other age groups experienced declines in sales.