Over 30 million toys received at Christmas are neglected by March

New research explains why following this spring clean parents should take a different approach to buying their children toys in order to reduce waste

19th March 2019, London: As parents across the UK start thinking about buying Easter gifts for their children, almost half of the gifts they bought for Christmas will have already been forgotten according to new research announced today.

The study – commissioned by Whirli and run by Sapio Research – reveals the extent of unused toys in Britain after another expensive season of festive gifting, and shows why parents are looking for alternative ways to keep their children engaged.

Key findings from the research include:

• On average children received 21 toys this Christmas, with 5% receiving more than 50
• 23% of those Christmas toys are neglected within a month (that’s around 32 million toys across the UK) and 40% within three months
• 80% of parents think their children are given too many toys at Christmas and other special occasions
• 88% of parents are consciously trying to reduce waste
• 56% of parents say prices are too high to constantly be refreshing kids’ toy box

Commenting on the research Nigel Phan, Founder and CEO of Whirli says: “The scale of gifts already neglected in the UK following the Christmas period indicates a huge disparity between Christmas gifting and what households with kids can actually handle or make use of. With a third of parents (31%) spending more than £150 per child and almost 9 in 10 parents trying to consciously reduce waste, it’s no surprise that our research reveals many frustrations parents have with the current toy shopping experience.” Toy fatigue doesn’t just occur post-ChristmasThe research also revealed some further insights around toy use beyond the festive season, including:

• The average household has 44 toy sets with just 39% of the toys in use, leaving almost 27 toys neglected at any one time
• 77% of parents feel that toys are cluttering their house, with 69% saying they have too many toys for their children
• Of all toys purchased over the course of the year, parents estimate 15% are neglected, forgotten, or got bored of within just days
• 31% of parents rotate the toys their children play with – keeping some in storage whilst others are out to be played with
• Only 58% of parents get pre-loved toys

Nigel Phan, Founder and CEO, Whirli adds: “Its brilliant to see that over half of parents (58%) will buy pre-loved toys and that a third (31%) are actively rotating toys within their homes. However, with almost four in five (77%) still feeling that toys are cluttering their homes, there is a clear demand for something more sustainable for the world and manageable for parents, which explains in part the success we’ve seen at Whirli with our pilot customers”

Whirli – the UK’s first fully flexible toy subscription box – was set up to help parents keep up with the ever-changing list of must-have toys without adding to the millions of unwanted toys that head to landfill every year. Offering four subscription packages starting from £9.99 per month, the service enables parents to pick toys to play with, then swap neglected toys and build an ever-changing toy box that suits them. Following the completion of a successful pilot, Whirli fully launched in mid-March.