Expanding Horizons: Currently, fast-growing e-commerce firms, Temu and Shein, are pressing their toy market campaigns as the holiday season draws near. As Black Friday is near, these platforms’ users in America and Europe are actively searching for toys, while pre-COVID-19 the platforms more focused on clothing and household items.
Shein and Temu Eye Toy Market Amid Growing Counterfeit Concerns
New Market Focus: For instance, in the pre-vious years, instead of going to Temu or Shein stores to buy toys or holiday gifts. However, the companies are today diversifying their product portfolio, entering what is considered one of the rapidly growing markets. This change is as a result of their strategy to capture more and bigger pieces of market share as consumers with the up-coming holiday shopping season.
Competitive Pricing: Has low-cost unbranded products to sell and both brands operate as online outlets in the USA similar to dollar stores. This reputation has enabled them attract price-conscious customers in the belief that their target stores will offer them good discounts. Now, these platforms are planning to transfer the competitive prices that they have been using in this sectors to the toys market in order to capture this profitable market segment.
Holiday Sales Surge: Circana reveals that toy market has become significantly relevant for retailers in the holiday season as the toy market sales in 2023 was $108.7 billion. Thus, both Temu and Shein believe that they could allocate a share of these sales targeting people who like to buy inexpensive gifts for children.
Rising Concerns: Nonetheless, it is important to note that although both platforms are rapidly penetrating the toy market, both face enormous pressure from regulators and consumer advocates. Selling of counterfeit and fake products appears to be on the rise on the sites they operate especially in categories such as toys, which attract both parental and regulatory attention in terms of safety and quality.
Shein and Temu See Toy Sales Surge, Drawing Attention from Major Retailers
Toys Take Off at Shein: While Shein used to sell t-shirts for$5 and sweaters for $10, the company is now witnessing massive toy market penetration. A spokesperson stated that toys have customarily adopted one of the most rapidly growing sectors on the site, with volume per year on per year rising by at least double digits. Of course, such a shift illuminates Shein’s diversification from fashion goods into other common and prevalent consumer products.
Temu's Growing Toy Appeal: There is also, a rising trend spotted by Temu concerning toys. The indicators that show increased popularity of the platform include toy, which indicates that consumers are using the site to look beyond basics. This growing demand tends to point to a general diversification of numerous e-commerce platforms targeting deploying numerous products for different customers.
Retail Giants Still Dominate: Nonetheless, large mass merchandisers like Amazon, Walmart and Target measured up to 70% of the US toy market. These well recognised brands still continue to be the focal points of many consumers, or at least during the festive seasons when toys are on high demand.
Temu's Holiday Growth: While Temu and Shein are enjoying the growth of the toy category, they remain a small fraction of U.S. holiday consumers. Market research firm Kantar found that 13% of Americans who celebrate holidays intended to make a purchase on Temu in 2021, compared with 9% in 2020; the share of credit card spending rose accordingly.
Major Brands Take Notice: Toy industries have not been left behind; with the increase in the sale of toys through the Shein and Temu platforms. For example, toy-maker MGA Entertainment, who manufactures L.O.L Surprise! dolls, is seeking to gain new sales platforms and is thinking of selling on such e-commerce sites. Mr Isaac Larian the CEO of mFlight Incubator believes that there is tremendous opportunity of reaching out for the new customer base through these platforms.
Shein and Temu Target Low-Income Shoppers, Sparking Concerns Over Counterfeits
Expanding Market Reach: Shein and Temu are more and more targeting consumers whose annual income is below $50,000, and many of them are hunting for discounts because of inclined consumer prices. An earlier survey conducted by Bank of America shows that more consumers with lower purchasing power are now trends to these channels during this holiday shopping period since prices are more preferred compared to physical stores.
Rising Popularity in Europe: In Europe, toy consumers that are in their youth age, the 18-34 years, are the most buying Shein, Temu and AliExpress toy products. According to a Circana study conducted recently, 39% of European buyers have shopped toys through these platforms this year, and this rises to 60% among the young. Such websites are used by price-sensitive consumers because products ranging from toy guns for less than $1 are offered here.
Concerns Over Counterfeits: However, controversies over counterfeit products have not yet faded away and the companies having Shein and Temu as its members continue to enjoy ever increasing demand. The industry has a term for counterfeits: ‘dupes.’ The major toymakers, Mattel, Hasbro, and MGA Entertainment have them on their radar. For instance, different fakes of Mattel’s toys including Uno and Hot Wheels have been offered on these sites making manufactures to develop concern.
Addressing Fake Products: Shein and Temu have a statement of defending against counterfeit products in their sites. Shein also has a team which makes certification from its suppliers to confirm that their products do not violate intellectual property rights. On its part, Temu pulled down suspicious listings for Uno products and vowed to investigate a case they were willing to safeguard non-compliant products.
Growing Seller Opportunities: However, we have noted that many toy distributors are already adopting Shein and Temu as profitable markets to access new clients. For instance, Popmarket has increased the retailing of Pop Funko figurines and toys by Hasbro on Shein. These low fees and broad user base present an attractive opportunity for toy manufacturers to address a significantly larger consumer base, however, issues related to counterfeit products have been a significant concern for MGA and Spin Master and the platforms currently cooperate with the companies to enhance their protection against fake products.
