Qualitative Results – 2005 Duracell Toy Survey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday 14 November 2005

Qualitative Results – 2005 Duracell Toy Survey

What do kids spend their pocket money on?

Most kids (50%) spend their pocket money on toys and games, with over a third (37%) spending their pocket money on sweets. But a diligent 37% save their money. Of those who save, more than half (58%) will do so for more than two months.

Boys appear to be better at saving their pocket money than girls, with 53% of saying they save their pocket money compared to 49% of girls. But girls seem better at keeping their savings in the bank – with 64% of those who save doing so for more than two months, compared to just 45% of boys who save.

Auckland kids are the best savers, with 50% saving their pocket money compared to just 20% in Wellington and 39% in Christchurch. In fact saving is the number one thing most Auckland kids do with their money and the majority of those who save (87%) do so for more than two months. Only a third of Christchurch and Wellingtonian savers will save for this long.

Christchurch kids prefer to spend their money on sweets (42%) whereas Wellingtonians like to buy toys and games (65%).

Where do kids like to shop?

The Warehouse came out tops as the favourite place to buy toys from - with 44% of kids saying this was their top toy shop. Toy World came in next (36%) followed by KMart (12.5%) and then Farmers (4.5%).

Girls prefer to shop for toys at Toy World (41%) but the big red shed (The Warehouse) is the favourite for boys (55%).

Toy World is tops in Auckland but The Warehouse rules in Christchurch and Wellington.

How do kids learn about new toys?

The majority of kids still find out about the latest toys from television advertising (62%), with friends being the next most important source (41%) and then from seeing the new toys in shops.

TV is still the main influencer for kids in all three centres when it comes to finding out about new toys, with Aucklanders being the most heavily influenced by TV (70%), compared to 59% in Wellington and 58% in Christchurch.

And while adults might think kids are internet junkies, only 4% say this medium is a source of information for learning about new toys.

Christchurch kids seem to be more internet-savvy, with 9% saying they learnt about new toys from this medium compared to 3% in Auckland and none in Wellington.

What do kids do with their free time?

A quarter of all Kiwi Kids spend their free time playing with toys. Video games and playing outside are activities 20% of Kiwi Kids spend their time on, while 19% spend their time playing with friends. Only 7% spend their time playing on the internet, while less than 3% say they spend their time doing club activities such as Brownies or Scouts. Only 3% spend their time playing with mobile phones or texting friends.

Most boys spend their free time playing on computer games (28%) followed by playing with toys (25%) and then playing outside (18%). Reading comes low on the list – just 10% of boys and 14% of girls say they spend their time reading.

Playing outside (24%) and playing with their toys (24%) are the key things girls spend them time doing, followed by playing with their friends (22%).

15% of girls spend their time playing sport compared to 12% of boys, while 7% of girls and 5% of boys spend their time on ballet or dance. Just 4% of boys and 2% of girls spend their time on their mobile phones or texting friends.

Children from Christchurch (34%) and Wellington (28%) like to spend their free time playing with their toys, whereas the majority of Auckland kids like to play computer games (24%).

More Christchurch children like to play outside (31%) compared to Auckland kids (17%) and Wellington kids (15%).

TV ranks after video games for Wellington kids, but is more fun than playing with friends (8%), taking part in sport (8%), or reading (7%). Auckland kids spend more time playing outside (17%) and watching TV (17%) than playing formal sports (12%). While Christchurch kids like to play computer games (24%), watch TV (23%) and play with their friends (20%).

What do kids prefer to do with their time?

Nearly half (49%) of all kids prefer to play with friends rather than playing alone (40%) or playing with their siblings (19%).

More than half of all girls (58%) prefer to spend their time playing with friends, compared to boys who prefer to play alone (53%).

Interestingly, Christchurch (55%) and Auckland kids (53%) seem to be more sociable than Wellingtonians (38%) – when it comes to playing with their friends. The majority of Wellington kids said they preferred to play alone (48%). While kids from all three centres would rather play with their friends or by themselves than play with their sisters or brothers!

What makes a toy a favourite?

Overall, being fun or cool was the main reason (28%) for choosing a favourite toy. The next most important feature was whether the toy was animated.

A quarter (25%) of boys will choose a toy because it is fun or cool compared to a third of girls while 19% of girls like a toy if it is lifelike. 16% of girls like a toy if it is animated, compared to 11% of boys.

Only 3% of all kids would choose a toy if it was cute and cuddly or if it offered them a chance to try out different skills.

Meanwhile, Auckland kids seem to have a softer side to them, with 17% saying they liked a toy because it was artistic or creative or because it was soft and furry (17%).

What did Kiwi kids get for Christmas last year?

Toys and games were the gifts most kids received last year (received by 70% of Kiwi kids), followed by clothes and fashion items and then books and magazines. 20% of Kiwi Kids said they got sweets as part of their Christmas haul, while DVDs (15%), video games (13%) and mobile phones/electronics (5%) were also on the gift list.

Toys and games were the most common gifts given to girls (70%) followed by clothes/fashion items (61%), and sweets (30%). In contrast computer games were the most frequently-given gifts for boys (66%) followed by clothes and fashion items (25%) and then books and magazines (23%).

Research conducted by TNS, October 2005, on behalf of Duracell New Zealand.

ENDS

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