Survey Finds Parents Choose Holiday Toy Destination Based on Low Prices

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Kids are willing to do almost anything to get the toys they want for Christmas according to Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, which found that 68 percent of kids said they would clean their rooms daily for a year, while 84 percent would work hard and give up playtime. But every child has limits; only 23 percent of kids would eat spinach for a year to get their holiday toys. The Walmart-commissioned survey also found that mom and dad favor educational toys and are focused on price. 

“The survey reflects what we are seeing in our stores. Parents are intent on fulfilling their kids’ holiday toy wish lists and at the same time, are looking for the most affordable options,” said Laura Phillips, senior vice president of toys, seasonal and celebrations, Walmart U.S. “As the largest seller of toys in the U.S. we have

a unique ability to leverage our size and scale in a way that meets those needs and helps parents deliver a Christmas to remember.”

Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, which polled 1,009 children between the ages of 3 – 11 and their parents, also discovered:

• Naughty or nice? Kids who’ve had a few time outs this year are in luck. While the majority of kids think their behavior impacts the amount of holiday toys they get, 78 percent of parents plan to buy the same amount of toys for their children regardless of how naughty or nice they’ve been throughout the year.

• Wish list toys – parents and kids disagree: The top toy gifts parents want to give their kids this Christmas are “toys that teach;” however, the top toys on kids’ wish lists are dolls and action figures.

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“We have seen that educational toys – including kids’ tablets – are one of the most popular categories this year,” shared Phillips. “To meet this demand, we have significantly increased the quantity of educational tablets in our stores and are adding new products throughout the season. This is just one example of how we’ve worked closely with our suppliers to help ensure we have the toys both kids and parents want.”

• Those sneaky kids: Parents are in the dark when it comes to knowing whether or not their kids find their gifts ahead of Christmas. Nearly twice as many kids as their parents say they found their gifts before the big morning (23 percent vs. 14 percent). The top hiding place? The closet.

• Nagging works.  Asked about the most persuasive technique their child uses to get the toy he/she wants for Christmas, the top response for parents is their child asking them repeatedly for the gift. Similarly, when kids are asked what they think is the best way to ensure that they get the toy they want for Christmas, the most popular response was to keep telling Mom or Dad over and over and over again. 

• The toy store parents are looking for: Price is the most popular factor among parents for determining the type of store to shop at for Christmas toys. Walmart is committed to offering low prices and currently has hundreds of toy rollbacks in store and online. Walmart.com also features an expanded assortment of the hottest toys plus free shipping options that help customers save even more. Thousands of toys are eligible for free shipping to home on qualifying toy purchases of $45 or more, or free shipping to any Walmart store across the US.   

In addition, as part of Walmart’s Toyland Tuesday toy rollback program, where Walmart has been rolling back prices on toys every Tuesday beginning in October, the retailer is offering parents the opportunity to vote on their toy savings.  On Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 parents can choose between two toys to go on rollback the following Tuesday. 

For more on Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, please visit news.walmart.com/holidaytoys.   

Survey MethodologyThe “Walmart Talking Holiday Toys Survey” was conducted by GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications utilizing GfK’s KnowledgePanel. The survey polled 1,009 children between the ages of 3 –11 and each child’s parent in September 2012.

About Walmart Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices.  Each week, more than 200 million customers and members visit our 10,400 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of approximately $444 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmartnewsroom. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.