Toy mania gears up during holiday shopping season

This is all Mr. Potato Head’s fault.

Okay, maybe it’s not fair to point the finger of blame at the classic toy that gives human features to the starchy, edible tuber.

 There had been other toy fads prior to Mr. Potato Head’s arrival, of course, such as the teddy bear, the yo-yo, and the Shirley Temple doll.

However, most analysts agree the must-have toy madness that often strikes at this time of year all began when the iconic Hasbro character debuted in 1952.

Mr. Potato Head was the first toy advertised on television, revolutionizing marketing by using the “nag factor” to encourage kids to ask their parents for the product.

“Child-directed advertising works,” according to a 2011 article in the Journal of Children and Media. “Among children 2 to 6 years old, even a brief exposure (10 to 30 seconds) to advertisements can influence subsequent food, drink, and toy preferences.”

Hasbro went on to sell over one million units, and the must-have toy phenomenon was underway.

Labubu dolls, collectible toys from the “The Monsters” series by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, have sparked long lines at stores, instant online sellouts, and a secondary market where rare dolls can be sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

But back in 1983, the Cabbage Patch Kids were igniting a massive holiday toy shopping craze of their own.

Retail workers on front lines

The line of fabric dolls with plastic heads was so popular that brawls broke out at retail stores nationwide. 

There were reports of hitting, shoving, stomping, and some customers attacking others with baseball bats and other weapons. 

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"They knocked over the display table,” Scott Belcher, manager of Hills Department Store in Charleston, W. VA., told Time after 5,000 people nearly rioted at the store.  “People were grabbing at each other, pushing and shoving. It got ugly."

The manic desire to get hold of one of the homely creatures inspired the plot of the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Jingle All the Way.

Ironically, the movie came out the same year that the Tickle Me Elmo craze erupted. 

The plush toy that giggled when squeezed were in short supply during the holiday season, leading to brawls, insanely high resale prices, shoppers chasing delivery trucks, and the trampling of a Wal-Mart (WMT) store clerk in Canada.

“Somebody in the crowd yelled: 'There's the Elmos!' and they rushed us," said the clerk, Robert Waller, who was hospitalized after suffering a broken rib, a concussion, and other injuries, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. 

“Elmo-mania” reached its peak in Muncie, India(BHARAT)na, where a man successfully traded a 1987 Ford Escort for a single Tickle Me Elmo doll.

By the end of December of that year, the entire stock of one million "Tickle Me Elmo" toys had been sold.

Beanie Babies, Furby, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have also inspired shopping frenzies.

Toy industry posts solid results

A record 186.9 million people are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year, according to the National Retail Federation, up more than 3 million total shoppers from the previous record of last year’s tally 183.4 million.

Toys are the third most popular gift on holiday shopping lists this year, the trade group said, just behind clothing and accessories and gift cards.

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Some of the must-have toys for this year include the Primal Hatch dinosaur, the RealFX Disney Stitch Puppetronic, the Hatchimals Alive! and LEGO Minecraft, according to the New York Post.

Whatever toy you purchase, beware of scammers who set up fake websites, run misleading ads, and offer impossible discounts on sold-out favorites, according to ConsumerAffairs, a consumer news and review platform. 

The U.S. toy industry seems to be doing well, according to the market research firm Circana, posting a solid performance through the third quarter after two years of stagnation.

Industry growth is largely being driven by collectible toys and licensed toys, the firm said. 

Strategic trading card games, sports trading cards, and action figure collectibles led the charge for collectibles; sports, witches and wizards, animals, movies, and video games were the big licensing themes.

“The U.S. consumer, and their willingness to absorb tariffs, will be the key factor shaping Q4 performance,” Juli Lennett, vice president and toy industry advisor at Circana.

“The toy industry has a unique advantage and tends to be resilient in turbulent times as toys serve as emotional anchors for families, offering joy and a welcome distraction in our lives.”

The industry also benefits from trends like adult self-gifting, nostalgia, and digital wellness, Lennett said, “factors that are expected to influence holiday purchases.”

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