Friday, May 11, 2012

The Avengers and the rebirth of the Toy Industry.

Over the last few years I have seen a decline in 1) the quality of movie tie in toys and 2) the sales of movie toe in toys.  For the last few Marvel movies it has been tough to move those toys, at least in my neck of the woods.  I will go into my local Target or Wal-Mart and there is a huge section of Thor, or Captain America just hanging around.  To the point that I could go in on just about any given day and get a hold of the chase figures.  They all then land in the clearance section at crazy reduced prices.

The Avengers may have changed that!  Before the movie hit last week I went into my local Target and it was the same old same old.  The pegs were packed with all of the various avengers toys.  Lots of them, they were full pegs!  I made my way back on Sunday and happened down the toy aisle.  They were all gone!  There were a few stragglers, but for the most part the shelves were bare.  I was curious so I made my way to Wal-Mart.  The same thing!

The wasteland that is Targets Avenger section after the movie premier




It feels like all the kids that got went to go see the movie made a run on the toy aisle the next day!  That's the way it used to be.  It has to say something about the movie to drive kids to the stores to want to buy these toys.  This has not been the trend in recent years.  Toys sales are suffering.  I've written about my thoughts on this before, and I stand by that, but there is something special in the air about this movie.

Could the movie bring a resurgent interest in toys for kids.  Do they want something tangible again?  Am I just forgetting that this happens with every major movie?  What are your thoughts on toy sales as they relate to the Avengers movie?  Would love to hear your thoughts!    

4 comments:

  1. I sure hope this is true! I just posted about how I hate not being able to find 6" action figures at stores anymore, but Walmart is supposedly going to be selling some Avengers figs soon so hopefully this changes things.

    I haven't had much of a chance to scope out the toy aisles since the Avengers came out but every time I'm in a store and see a kid walking around with one of the masks or Thor's hammer or something it brings a smile to my face.

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    1. Yeah it is really cool to see that again. After seeing a massive decline in interest, it is nice to see it coming back!

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  2. I hope this is the case but at the same time i don't want the pegs ruled by movie toys either because i want to see some original ideals and concepts out there too.

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    1. I agree Jboy, I would like to see more original stuff as well! There is a real lack of that compared to the goden age! At the same time though perhaps something like this will create a resurgence in an interest in toys for kids!

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