Toy Industry Experiences 4% Decline in Sales for the Year

Last year was not very playful for the U.S. toy industry, with sales falling almost 4%, market research firm NPD Group said Sunday.

In 2005, total sales for the beleaguered industry declined to $21.3 billion from $22.1 billion the year before, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

That qualified as a “so-so” year for toymakers, who have been grappling with intense price competition, slipping revenue, higher costs and store closings.

Frazier said the infant and preschool category had the largest sales, grabbing almost 15% market share in 2005. Some of the year’s best-selling toys were Cabbage Patch dolls, the Roboraptor -- a robotic dinosaur -- and the Amazing Amanda interactive baby doll.

For 2006, Frazier expects mass and discount retailers and online retailers to increase their market share.

She also said toymakers were expected to continue to battle for the attention of children who are outgrowing traditional toys at an increasingly young age, turning their attention to video games, DVDs and electronic gadgets such as MP3 players.