Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Best-Selling Christmas Gifts

Dec 21, 2010 Kerry Gallagher

iPod Touch, popular Christmas gift - IPod_touch_2G.png: Kyro

iPod Touch, popular Christmas gift - IPod_touch_2G.png: Kyro

Amid the recent focus on electronic gadgets, several sources are reporting a comeback for the likes of Lego and collectable toys as Christmas gifts this year.

Budget Constraints mean Simple Gifts

British newspaper The Telegraph reports that budget constraints have meant parents have cut back on fancy electronic gifts and opted for more ‘traditional’ toys instead. These include games, such as Monopoly, or stuffed toys such as Sylvanian Families.

Overall, the average price of the projected most-popular toys has fallen, with The Telegraph citing British retalier Sainsbury's as cutting the price of all toys by 50 percent.

CNBC reports that lower-priced toys are popular this year. It also states that a trend is toward buying collectable items, such as Zoobles, Squinkies and Sing-A-Ma-Jigs.

Lego, a best-seller

But Lego seems to be the big winner as a result of this year’s trend.

Walmart reports that a relatively cheap Lego set is the number one selling toy for online shoppers.

This claim has been backed by Amazon.coms rankings, in which Lego is excelling.

In their best-sellers list, in the toys and games category, Lego products are first and second, with the “Sigma 3 Remote Controlled Helicopter” in third place.

Amazon's Best-Sellers

Further examination of Amazons best-sellers list is revealing.

In electronics, the “Kindle” is number one and two, with the “iPod Touch” third.

In movies, “Inception” comes in first and third, with its box-set and DVD editions respectively. The “Despicable Me” DVD is third.

The “Canon EOS Rebel T2i” is the best selling camera. The “Flip Ultra HD” video camera is third and Canon is also third in this category with the “Powershot SD 1300”.

The top three video games are “Just Dance 2” for the Wii, “Call of Duty: Black Ops” for the X-Box, and “Donkey Kong Country Returns” – also for the Wii.

Most Popular Books

The George W. Bush penned “Decision Point” is the hottest selling book on Amazon, with the “Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1” second and “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption” third.

USA Today also ranks “Decision Point” as the top-selling book, with other top-sellers being “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth” and the Tom Clancy, Grant Blackwood novel “Dead or Alive” also high on the list.

Meanwhile, KTXS News reports that the hottest selling toy is the "Kinect" game system. Walmart also reports this is the second-most popular selling toy, behind the Lego set.

Consumer Spending

Overall, according to Gallup, consumer spending in the USA is about on-par with that of a year ago., but that level of spending has been relatively lower in the past few years. However, this data considers overall spending, not just Christmas purchases.

Copyright Kerry Gallagher. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

  • iPod Touch, popular Christmas gift - IPod_touch_2G.png: Kyro

    iPod Touch, popular Christmas gift - IPod_touch_2G.png: Kyro

  • Lego, a popular low-tech Christmas gift - de:Benutzer:Priwo

    Lego, a popular low-tech Christmas gift - de:Benutzer:Priwo

  • Traditional toys are making a comeback - Husky (talk | contribs)

    Traditional toys are making a comeback - Husky (talk | contribs)

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