With a market size of US$1.7 billion, these two types of toys are experiencing a big boom in India

Toys exported from China are very popular among consumers. Not only European and American countries, but also India has a strong dependence on toys exported from China.

Data shows that the Indian toy market is estimated to be worth $ 1.7 billion and is growing at a rate of 10 %-15 % per year .

In India, educational toys, especially for children, have become the focus of more consumers, and sales of educational toys account for more than 30% of all toy sales .

Vivek Goyal, co-founder and CEO of PlayShifu, an Indian educational toy and game developer, said that during the epidemic, PlayShifu witnessed more returning users due to the implementation of home isolation and online education, and the number of active users soared by 60% in the first three weeks of the lockdown.

By the end of 2020, PlayShifu had added 350,000 new users worldwide , which shows the extent of consumer demand for such products.

Goyal added that PlayShifu ’s sales on Amazon grew 400% during the January - August 2020 period compared to the same period last year , and direct-to-consumer sales on the site grew 1,300%.

Additionally, between March and May 2020, online shopping volume from Tier 2 and 3 cities on PlayShifu grew by 60%, and users from Tier 2 and 3 cities grew by 20%.

Although the number of users and sales of the PlayShifu platform continue to increase, the current situation in India is that half of the demand for toys has to be met through imports . For example, India imports $600 million worth of toys from China every year.

This is mainly because the low price point of Chinese toys makes them highly attractive to customers, while it is difficult for Indian toy suppliers to compete domestically.

There are many types of toys and the market size varies. In 2020, at least 85% of electronic toys in India were purchased from China.

Chinese toy manufacturers are able to sell at lower prices in India because Indian electronic toy manufacturers have not yet taken shape.

This means that in the short term, the Indian toy market will still rely on imports, with Chinese-made products taking the lead with their high quality and low prices.

If sellers want to enter the Indian toy market, they can refer to Indian consumers' demand for educational toys and electronic toys.

Cross-border e-commerce market

India