Sphero’s, arguably the star of the latest Star Wars movie, apparently did its part in helping nation’s toy industry grow sales last year.
According to NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks toy sales, Star Wars-themed toys “was the number-one absolute dollar growth contributor to three of the super-categories: Action Figures, Vehicles, and All Other Toys,” NPD Star Wars toys helped boost overall U.S. toy sales 6.7 percent in 2015 to about $19.4 billion.
Over the weekend at the annual Toy Fair in New York, NPD handed Boulder-based Sphero an award for “#1 Selling U.S. Toy” in the category of youth electronics.
Sphero’s BB-8 was definitely a highlight when the new Star Wars movie toys debuted on Sept. 4, 2015, three months ahead of the December opening of “Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens.”
The app-controlled rolling droid , though it’s back in stock pretty much everywhere. At for about $134, or $15 off the retail price.
NPD that U.S. toy sales grew 6.7 percent in 2015 to about $19.4 billion. A year earlier, sales for the national toy industry grew from 2013 to $17.46 billion. The numbers are based on NPD’s tracking results with 80 percent of U.S. toy sellers. It also estimated that the market size for the U.S. toy industry was $24 billion last year.
Movie characters drove the biggest sales in the toy industry last year. But NPD cited the new Star Wars and its early release of toys for being the largest contributor. With just three months of toy sales, Star Wars became the top brand last year with more than $700 million in sales, according to NPD. Compared to other movie titles, Star Wars toys sold more than toys from “Jurassic World,” “Minions” and “Avengers” combined.
Sphero big BB-8 hit has done wonders for the company, including in a round led by Disney. It hasn’t divulged exact numbers of BB-8 sales since Disney is its partner, but last month, CEO Paul Berberian shared that from all its product lines. That figure includes the original Sphero, an educational version and the pudgier rolling-pin-like . Prior to BB-8, the company in its 5-year lifetime.
But even with BB-8’s help, however, sales in the Youth Electronics category fell in 2015 by 4.9 percent. The decline comes after a large boost in 2014 sales, when the niche grew 9 percent, according to NPD.
And the top-selling toy for the year, according to NPD? The from Moose Toys.
