Question from Elodie
Will Christmas toy prices really be cheaper this year?
Hello Elodie, and thank you for this question.
Decoration, menus and lists for Santa… The spirit of the end-of-year holidays is slowly starting to creep into our daily lives.
But surely, like in past years, what will be on the tables or under the tree will depend on everyone’s wallet and, inevitably, the prices of the products.
Inflation slowed significantly in France in October, to 4% over one year after 4.9% in September, according to provisional data communicated on October 31 by INSEE.
This drop in inflation is due, according to the Institute of Statistics, to the slowdown over one year in the prices of energy, food and, to a lesser extent, manufactured products.
The prices of services would accelerate slightly. Over one month, consumer prices should increase by 0.1% in October 2023, after -0.5% in September.
A drop of “2 to 3%” on toys, really?
Rightly asked about inflation on the plateau of Franceinfo Monday October 6, the boss of the Leclerc brands, Michel-Edouard, announced “real drops” toy prices. A piece of news that will delight children.
“In the coming weeks, for Christmas toys, there are real drops in what is comparable, of the order of 2% to 3%”, he clarified. Before commenting: “It’s still interesting.”
He also indicated that this drop in prices would concern more broadly “anything non-food, such as textiles”, but also everything that is rarely produced in France. In other words, imported products.
The reason according to him? A reduction in the cost of transport from Asia.
A drop of… 22 cents
Our colleagues from RTL have, for the third year in a row, compared the price of toys in 2023 catalogs to those of 2022.
The prices of 5,000 toys were compared and the result of this investigation is not really cause for celebration. Since the average price of toys fell by only 22 cents, a reduction of 0.61%.
What do the experts think?
On the experts’ side, nothing really positive either. The Dauphiné Libéré questioned the French Federation of Toy and Childcare Industries (FJP) which does not “does not validate this trend”.
If there will be promotions, they will be done as part of commercial strategies or too much stock, “to say that the price of toys is falling structurally would be to extrapolate”.
A drop in toy prices that the Federation of Specialized Toys and Children’s Products Retailers (FCJPE) does not guarantee.
No more than Frédérique Tutt, expert on the global toy industry at Circana, who cannot “neither confirm nor deny the figures put forward by Michel-Edouard Leclerc”.
If you want to buy your toys at the best price, you can always use the price comparison site The Unearther in which more than 1,000 sites are referenced.
Have a nice day and happy Christmas shopping.