One Quarter of Kids’ Goods Are Licensed, NPD Finds

According to The NPD Group’s findings, children, ages 3-5, represented the largest age group for licensed sales based on units sold at roughly 30 percent. Toys, games and puzzles, arts and crafts and health and beauty were also over-indexed amongst this group. Children, ages 6-8, were the second largest group, with a 23 percent share of the children's licensing market. They were widely represented in the fashion accessories, apps/in-app purchases and school supplies categories. Star Wars was the most popular property in this age range.

Across all segments, clothing captured the most significant share of product sales, followed by toys, games & puzzles, party supplies or costumes and books.

The Top 5 Licenses across all ages and industries include “Paw Patrol,” Frozen, Mickey Mouse, National Football League and Star Wars.

“There is a lot of fluidity in the kids’ licensing market, and understanding the differences among age groups is critical to finding opportunities,” says Juli Lennett, senior vice president and toys industry advisor, The NPD Group. “Change is only growing stronger and faster today, as technology continues to accelerate the pace of trends, and carve out additional ways for consumers to engage. Kids are utilizing more platforms than ever before to interact with their favorite licenses. Finding synergies across industries and extending the life of a license where it makes sense are important avenues for licensors and retailers to pursue.”