They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – and if you still haven’t purchased your child’s gift, that hint could be very helpful.
Quizzed about shopping, leisure activities, new technology and what’s cool in Roy Morgan Research’s latest Young Australians Survey, the kids’ responses provide some handy insights into winning gifts for the younger generation this festive season. The survey involved 2,500 6-13 year olds from around the country.
The most coveted gift is the latest iPod Touch – nominated by 66% of boys and 68% of girls as this year’s Christmas hit. Next on the list are the iPod and iPad as well as iPhones and – shock – the non-Apple Nintendo Wii.
While these switched-on youngsters are spending more than 8 hours per week on the internet (up by almost half-an-hour from 2010), they spend more time with their friends (almost 9.5 hours per week) than they do online. They also play marginally more sport than computer games but the gap is ever-decreasing in favour of online.
Giving them sportswear — especially their preferred labels such as Billabong, Nike and Rip Curl— could score big points and may even encourage them to get moving in the great outdoors.
And just as Motherpedia reported earlier in the year, Superheroes are always popular.
Batman, Superman or Spiderman make welcome gifts. Cartoon characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Bugs Buggy are also much loved; so too is anything related to The Simpsons.
Of course, the best guide to what kids really like is to look at how they spend their own money. 46% of children spent their hard (or otherwise) earned cash in 2012 on toys for themselves.
According to John La Rosa, Industry Director of Roy Morgan Research, smart marketers realise they need to stay up-to-date with kids’ trends and preferences at key retail times such as Christmas.
“While this generation of young Australians is more technologically savvy than any previous generation, and gets excited by digital products their parents never dreamed of, it’s interesting to see timeless childhood favourites like superheroes, sports and toys still rate highly.”
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