Barbie, Hot Wheels and Lego are expected to top Christmas lists in 2023 as Santa’s sleigh takes to the skies, according to a Euromonitor expert.

Loo Wee Teck, Head of Toys and Games at Euromonitor International, said: “Classics like Barbie, Transformers, Hot Wheel are still on top of the parents, children’s and kidults – young adults - wish lists. However, global sales of action movie figures are projected to decline 2% in 2023."

“Dolls and model vehicles are forecasted to buck the downward trend with flat sales for dolls and 1% growth for model vehicles. This demand is also driven by the movies like Barbie and Fast X as toy manufacturers morph into entertainment companies and push out digital content to drive additional revenues like movies.”

Wee Teck said toys made from natural material like wood were expected to be in high demand this year benefiting from the increased focus by families, Gen Z and Millennials on sustainability.

“Toy manufacturers are planning big push this holiday season. Some leading toy manufacturers have reported a drop in sales in the first half of the year especially in the US - the largest toy market. Nonetheless, we expect a concerted effort from both manufacturers and retailers as we move towards the critical holiday season with aggressive promotion and advertisements,” added Wee Teck.

Wee Teck said China remains the key toy manufacturer in the market accounting for third quarter of all global toys according to trade sources.

The Indian toy industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the “Make in India” campaign driven by the country’s government. India's toy exports increased 60 per cent from $203.46 million in 2018-19 to $325.72 million in 2022-23, based on data provided by Ministry of State for Commerce and Industry of India.

For more consumer insights see the Euromonitor report here.