Why don’t you make money selling toys? Revealing the three major dilemmas of the toy industry
In recent years, the toy industry seems to be prosperous, but many practitioners complain that "selling toys does not make money." Through the analysis of hot topics across the Internet in the past 10 days, we found that the toy industry is facing three core problems: fierce market competition, rising costs, and changes in consumer demand. Below is detailed data and analysis.
1. Market competition is fierce: low prices have become the norm

| E-commerce platform | Average SKU number of similar toys | Minimum selling price (yuan) | Maximum selling price (yuan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taobao | 1,200+ | 9.9 | 899 |
| Pinduoduo | 800+ | 6.8 | 599 |
| Douyin store | 500+ | 12.8 | 1,299 |
Data shows that competition among similar toys on mainstream e-commerce platforms is fierce, low-price strategies have become the main sales method, and profit margins have been severely compressed.
2. Costs continue to rise: profit margins fall below the warning line
| cost item | Proportion in 2020 | Proportion in 2023 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| raw materials | 35% | 48% | 37% |
| Logistics | 12% | 18% | 50% |
| Platform commission | 8% | 15% | 87.5% |
Key cost items have risen sharply in the past three years, causing the industry's average profit margin to drop from 15% to about 5%, and some categories even suffered losses.
3. Changes in consumer demand: traditional toys fall out of favor
According to the analysis of the popularity of social platforms in the past 10 days, parents’ concerns when purchasing toys have changed significantly:
| demand characteristics | mention rate | year-on-year growth |
|---|---|---|
| Educational function | 68% | +22% |
| electronic | 45% | +18% |
| Brand licensing | 32% | -5% |
Suggestions for breaking the situation:
1.Differentiated positioning: Turning to market segments such as STEAM educational toys and programming robots
2.content marketing: Show the early education value and usage scenarios of toys through short videos
3.Supply chain optimization: In-depth cooperation with factories to develop exclusive products to avoid price wars
The toy industry is going through a period of deep adjustment. Only operators who grasp the changing trends can break through the dilemma of "not making money". In the future, toys with educational attributes and technological content will become the new favorites in the market.
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