Top toys revealed as experts predict unicorns are on their way out

The best selling Christmas toys have been revealed, with the L.O.L Surprise! Doll assortment topping the list - however experts predicted that llamas will overtake unicorns as kids's favourite 'animal' next year.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Dec 2018, 12:00 BST
Updated 20th Dec 2018, 12:06 BST
Unicorn toys such as Poopsie, which is one of this year's hits, are to be replaced by Ilamas, experts claim.Unicorn toys such as Poopsie, which is one of this year's hits, are to be replaced by Ilamas, experts claim.
Unicorn toys such as Poopsie, which is one of this year's hits, are to be replaced by Ilamas, experts claim.

Other variations of the hit L.O.L toy also claiming third and fourth place in the table, while also featuring in the top 10 are the Lego Harry Potter Great Hall, interactive robots Boxer and Cozmo and a digital camera for pre-schoolers.

Poopsie the Magical Unicorn, which features glitter slime, also appears on the list, compiled by market information firm NPD.

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However, NPD said that while the unicorn was the most popular “animal” in the toys sector this year - with dozens of toys and clothing ranges featuring the mythical creature - llamas were set to challenge unicorns for popularity with children in 2019.

Frederique Tutt, global industry analyst for toys for NPD, said: “This year, Christmas Day falls on a Tuesday, and the last time that happened was in 2012. If Christmas sales then are a predictor of what will happen in 2018, we’ll have seen three weeks of solid sales figures up to the big day and record spend on the high street during the weekend before Christmas.”

“The majority of toy sales are still made in a physical store at six in 10 of toys sold, so we expect toy shops and stockists up and down the country to be busy up to the last minute.”

Worth £1.2 billion, or 34 per cent of annual sales, Christmas is a crucial time for retailers and toy manufacturers with £110 spent on each child on average, and the fortnight before Christmas usually accounts for 12 per cent of annual toy sales.

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Llamas have already been a hit toy in America following the popularity of a Netflix TV show for pre-schoolers called Llama Llama, based on a series of children’s books by the same name.

Ms Tutt added: “Pretty much every year we discover a new toy craze or a new toy trend. Remember the loom bands? The spinners? The squishies? Children are very fond of pets and nurturing is of perennial value in the toy market.

“Since 2017 it is fair to say that unicorns have dominated the market and you could find unicorn plush, unicorn figures, unicorn crafts - and outside the world of toys anything from unicorn onesies to slippers or even woolly hats. Well, the reign of the unicorn might be over It seems that the llamas are new toy kingdom animal-of-choice going into 2019.”