Parents drive screen-free toy sales this Christmas season

Summarised from 2 outlets · 3 reports · Updated 12 Oct, 00:24 · Archive

Parents are buying more screen-free toys this Christmas, retailers say, citing growing concern about technology's impact on children.

Parents are buying more screen-free toys this Christmas, retailers have reported, citing growing concern about technology's impact on children. The Entertainer said every toy in its predicted top 10 for Christmas is screen-free, while Smyths reported that screen-free play 'continues to make a comeback' as parents seek to keep children away from devices.

This trend follows a summer that saw former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announce a social media ban for under-16s. The timing coincided with the release of Toy Story 5, which features a plot centred on a Lilypad smart tablet character that forces the toys to work together to save their owner Bonnie from electronic devices.

Geoff Sheffield, buying director at The Entertainer, said: 'Every single one of our top 10 toys this Christmas – as selected by our expert buying team – is screen-free.' He added that the retailer was 'seeing a real appetite for toys that get children hands-on, using their imaginations and finding their own ways to play'.

Sheffiled noted that while screens are naturally a big part of children's lives, there remains 'a real desire for toys that offer something different'. The Entertainer is seeing 'strong demand for creative, imaginative, and more traditional educational toys, and it's coming from both children and those buying for them'.

Some traditional forms of play are reaching new audiences, Sheffield said, while also tapping into nostalgia among parents who played with similar toys themselves. He reported that the retailer had 'seen sales of screen-free toys increase in our stores compared to previous years, as categories that tap into this trend continue to hold firm'.

How it is being reported

• Screen-free toys to be popular this Christmas as parents try to get children off techScreen-free toys set to top best-selling Christmas lists this year, retailers sayThe Independent · 12 Oct, 00:02
• Parents driving up sales of screen-free toys this Christmas, retailers reportThe Entertainer said every one of its predicted top 10 toys this Christmas was screen-free.Independent Business · 12 Oct, 00:01
• Parents driving up sales of screen-free toys this Christmas, retailers reportThe Entertainer said every one of its predicted top 10 toys this Christmas was screen-free.Evening Standard · 12 Oct, 00:01

In this story: The Entertainer · Smyths · Sir Keir Starmer · Geoff Sheffield

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