Editing Toy (section)

==Economics==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2022}}

[[File:Making toys, Digby, Nova Scotia. 2008.jpg|thumb|Making toys, [[Digby, Nova Scotia]]. 2008]]
With toys comprising such a large and important part of human existence, the toy industry has a substantial economic impact. Sales of toys often increase around holidays where gift-giving is a tradition. Some of these holidays include Christmas, Easter, [[Saint Nicholas Day]], and [[Three Kings Day]].

In 2005, toy sales in the United States totaled about $22.9&nbsp;billion.<ref name="Tsuruoka" /> <!-- This reference has a slightly lower figure, but isn't from as reliable a source. I'm hesitant to delete it entirely at this point, so I'm hiding it in a comment until I know what to do with it.<ref name=Vargas>
{{cite web|last=Vargas|first=Melody|title=Annual Toy Industry Sales|work=About.com|url=http://retailindustry.about.com/od/seg_toys/a/toy_sales.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313161559/http://retailindustry.about.com/od/seg_toys/a/toy_sales.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 March 2006|access-date=22 November 2006}}</ref>--> Money spent on children between the ages of 8 and twelve alone totals approximately $221&nbsp;million annually in the U.S.<ref name="tweens">{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=28 November 2006|title=Parents of tweens seek balance for fast-maturing kids|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/11/28/teen.tweens.ap/index.html|url-status=dead|access-date=16 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061201012535/http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/11/28/teen.tweens.ap/index.html|archive-date=1 December 2006}}</ref> It was estimated that in 2011, 88% of toy sales was in the age group 0–11 years.<ref name="NPD Group">{{cite web|last=Crupnick|first=Russ|title=Drilling to the Core in Toy Spending|url=https://www.npdgroupblog.com/drilling-to-the-core-in-toy-spending/#comment-4736|work=npdgroupblog.com|publisher=NPD Group|access-date=12 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312031305/https://www.npdgroupblog.com/drilling-to-the-core-in-toy-spending/#comment-4736|archive-date=12 March 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Toys R Us sg.JPG|thumb|[[Toys "R" Us]] operated over 1,500 stores in 30 countries and had an annual revenue of US$13.6&nbsp;billion]]
Toy companies change and adapt their toys to meet the changing demands of children thereby gaining a larger share of the substantial market. In recent years many toys have become more complicated with flashing lights and sounds in an effort to appeal to children raised around television and the internet. According to [[Mattel]]'s president, Neil Friedman, "Innovation is key in the toy industry and to succeed one must create a 'wow' moment for kids by designing toys that have fun, innovative features and include new technologies and engaging content."

In an effort to reduce costs, many mass-producers of toys locate their factories in areas where wages are lower. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world's toys and is home to more than 8,000 toy firms, most of which are located in the [[Pearl River Delta]] of [[Guangdong|Guangdong Province]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Dezhi|last2=Wei|first2=William|last3=Hu|first3=Daiping|last4=Muralidharan|first4=Etayankara|title=Survival strategy of OEM companies: a case study of the Chinese toy industry|journal=International Journal of Operations & Production Management|date=5 September 2016|volume=36|issue=9|pages=1065–1088|doi=10.1108/IJOPM-04-2015-0212}}</ref> 75% of all toys sold in the U.S., for example, are manufactured in China.<ref name=Tsuruoka/> Issues and events such as power outages, supply of raw materials, supply of labor, and raising wages that impact areas where factories are located often have an enormous impact on the toy industry in importing countries.

Many traditional toy makers have been losing sales to [[video game]] [[Video game industry|makers]] for years. Because of this, some traditional toy makers have entered the field of [[electronic game]]s and have even been turning [[audio games]] into toys, and are enhancing the brands that they have by introducing interactive extensions or internet connectivity to their current toys.<ref name = "Ibisworld">{{cite news
 | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/world-in-their-hands/2007/03/24/1174597945762.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
 | title = World in their hands
 | newspaper = The Age
| location=Melbourne
| date=26 March 2007
}}</ref>

In addition, the rise of [[distributed manufacturing]] enables consumers to make their own toys from [[open source]] designs with a [[3-D printer]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Researchers run the numbers on cutting the cost of toys by 3-D printing them at home |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/researchers-run-numbers-cutting-cost-toys-3-d-printing-home/ |work=Geekwire|date=20 July 2017 }}</ref> As of 2017 consumers were already offsetting millions of dollars per year by [[3D printing]] their own toys from [[MyMiniFactory]], a single repository.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Petersen | display-authors = etal | year = 2017| title = Impact of DIY Home Manufacturing with 3-D Printing on the Toy and Game Market | url = https://www.academia.edu/33966963 | journal = Technologies | volume = 5 | issue = 3| page = 45 | doi = 10.3390/technologies5030045 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How 3D printing could save consumers millions in toys and games |url=https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printing-save-consumers-millions-toys-games-118735/ |work=3D Printing Industry|date=24 July 2017 }}</ref>