Retro, tech toys top requests on kids' 2004 holiday gift lists
Author: Drug Store News

Nearly half of shoppers surveyed--49 percent--said they would buy toys this holiday season, according to the NPD Group. More good news for chain drug retailers is that many of those toys ring in at comfortable price points for drug store shoppers, including Mattel's Barbie as Princess Anneliese and Erika for $19.99 and Jakks Pacific TV Games for $20, both listed on Toy Wishes magazine's Hot Dozen list for 2004. Each year, the magazine's editors select the toys they believe will be the hardest to find because of their popularity among kids.

This season, 1-in-5 holiday shoppers with children on their gift lists will be looking for Barbie merchandise for girls or video games for boys, according to the National Retail Federation's Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey.

Barbie and video games also appeared on Internet search engine Lycos' fifth annual list of the most popular toys and video games for 2004 based on what it calls the Lycos 50, a weekly list of the most popular people, places and things searched for online.

"General searches for toys have gone up 255 percent over last week," said Dean Tsouvalas, author of the Lycos 50, in a Nov. 22 interview. Tsouvalas also noted that Bratz dolls generated 117 percent more search activity for the four weeks ended Nov. 13.