Toys E-commerce Industry in India: Trends, Challenges and Solutions

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Trends of Toys E-commerce Industry in India
3. Challenges of the Toys E-commerce Industry in India
– Seasonal Challenges
– Logistics Till the Final Mile
– Gifting and Quality Checks
– Product Type and Sizes
– Diverse Payment Preference
4. Opportunities for Toys E-commerce Industry in India
– Inventory Management
– Logistics Allocation
– System that Suits Your Business Needs
– Image Assisted Sorting
– Hard Earned Money, Straight to Your Pocket
5. From Hamleys to Classic Yoyos, Streamline Your Operational Workflow
6. FAQs

The toy industry is full of excitement, stories, and profit potential. Let’s dive into one of the stories right away!

Once upon a time, Alex had a toy store named Fun Play where children used to come and buy their favorite toys. His collection was unique and safe for children, so everybody wanted to buy from him. When Alex learned about this, he decided to expand his business, and after researching it, he started selling online on popular marketplaces and his own brand’s website. His business experienced a boom, and he started selling across the country.

Platforms like Amazon and Firstcry helped him, and market demand increased daily. It became a multidimensional opportunity for him. However, it revealed some challenges with time, just like Mojo Jojo used to challenge the Powerpuff Girls.

 He experienced a surge in orders through his multiple sales channels, and seasonal demands used to change frequently. This gave rise to operational inefficiency and mismanagement, making it difficult to maintain his profitability. However, Alex had two options: return to conventional selling with a limited profit or face the challenges of evolving with time, streamline his operations, and increase the profitability of his business. We aim to predict these challenges, uncover strategies to thrive in this dynamic industry and improve unit economics.

Trends of Toys E-commerce Industry in India

• Parents now prefer to buy toys that offer play-based learning.
• The shift is on the brands that deal in safe elements in their toys—for instance, there is a preference among parents for non-toxic, eco-friendly, and chemical-free materials like food-grade silicon.
• Emerging brands like Desi Toys, Ariro, and Baby Forest make Indian-originated toy cultures. The representation expands itself to the global stage.
• The online-buying culture is increasing, making parents curious and preferring to research well before making any purchase.

According to the demand of trends, the following are the segments in the industry:

• Educational and Interactive: Allow kids to do some activity within a safe environment.
• Puzzles and Action: Allows kids to explore and engage cognitively.
• Plushies and Soft Toys: This is a companion toy that provides comfort to children.

The trends are dynamic, and with the growth comes the challenges. Let’s explore what challenges as a seller you can face in the industry and what opportunities these challenges bring:

Challenges of the Toys E-commerce Industry in India

1. Seasonal Challenges

Just like how children tend to change their mood. The toy preference is not exceptional. They always want what their friends have or what is advertised on television. Hence, the demand of the market is pretty dynamic.

 On the backend, this creates a potential for inventory overstock or understock. Something very trendy will face a sales boost, and you don’t want to have something unsellable taking up your storage space in the warehouse. Balancing this scenario is one of the tasks.

 2. Logistics Till the Final Mile

E-commerce toy purchases are still limited geographically to urban areas, and hence, service providers are more readily available in cities. This creates a challenge for brands to manage deliveries in regions where their providers don’t offer pincode serviceability. It is crucial to manage this shifting change because customer satisfaction drives the game in e-commerce.

3. Gifting and Quality Checks

The toy industry is one of the most popular when it comes to gifting, and often different packaging is required. Some brands have their own gifting range, and sometimes, the products are required to be bundled in order to be gifted. This can also be part of promotions or sales requiring product bundling.

Additionally, as parents become more aware and concerned with the quality of the toys, it becomes essential to have a checkpoint at the time of inbound or inventory stockage and returns.

4. Product Type and Sizes

There’s no limitation when it comes to toy product sizes. It can be a big teddy, a compact color box, or a small Barbie hairpin. All of them have certain packing requirements. If this versatility in packaging is not managed well, it can create bottlenecks in the workflow. Such bottlenecks lead to delays, resulting in slower order processing and late deliveries.

5. Diverse Payment Preference

Trust is one of the hardest things to earn. Yet, it’s the fuel for the e-commerce industry to run. Often, the consumer base prefers to pay cash on delivery. And in this case, the marketplace holds a big chunk of your money. The greater the reliance on cash, the higher the risk of financial leakages. Keeping manual track of these transactions is a daunting task. And keeping a manual track of the same is a hell of a task.

Remedies to Streamline E-commerce Operations for Toy E-tailers in India

Where there are challenges, there’s a door to opportunities. As we mentioned, with excellent potential and growing toy brands in India, it’s the right time to up your game and conquer the challenges to ensure the success of your e-commerce business. Let’s see what you can do!

1. Inventory Management

The trends and changes are undeniable. The only thing we can control is our inventory. To prevent stock-outs or understocks of toys, you need to predict the right number to store. Where will you get that from? The answer is a good Inventory management system—the one that will provide you with central visibility of your inventory across all selling channels and an accurate report to forecast stock levels.

2. Logistics Allocation

When we say that the concentration of e-commerce toy purchases is towards the city, this doesn’t mean that the tier 2 and tier 3 regions do not buy from online platforms. But if you expect the top logistics of your city to reach every geography. It might not be the right deal!

You need effective order management that identifies which logistic partner can deliver to specific pin codes and ensures the orders are delivered accurately and promptly. Coordinating with pincode serviceability within a limited timeframe is crucial for customer satisfaction.

3. Compact System for Your Business Needs

There’s no point investing in solutions if they don’t cater to your business needs. In the warehouse, everything is interconnected. A good warehouse solution will only perform well if the inventory is in sync and order management fetches the right information. For example, suppose your brand launches a special offer for its gifting range during the birthday season. In that case, the ability to bundle and sync inventory with your order management and warehouse systems is essential.

Secondly, quality checks are important for industries that cater to children. So, you need to break the code and create a room in your system to ensure quality during inventory stocking and returns.

4. Image Assisted Sorting

The time of packaging is the critical stage when you don’t want to mess up and hurdle the whole workflow. So, a solution that provides image-assisted sorting will save you all that time, guaranteeing accuracy.

For example, if a big teddy is on the way to get packed, the packaging person will already be made aware of how to get the right packaging material and manual force. This reduces the cognitive burden on the person and enhances the packaging of multiple items. The bottleneck will be prevented. Your workforce will always be informed and prepared, from small color boxes to large gifts.

5. Hard Earned Money, Straight to Your Pocket

We understand that the dependency on cash is something no business would prefer. But the thing is, it is completely unavoidable. People prefer to pay with cash, and the road to financial leakage is built. Discrepancies and frauds occur more frequently in marketplaces because of cash.

What can we do? A middle way is only created by one and only- technology. Of course, you cannot keep track of all the channels you are selling on, and the manual dependency will make you prone to errors. A dedicated payment reconciliation tool can automatically monitor your expected and received payments, ensuring accuracy and saving you time and profits! Sounds like a deal, right?

From Hamleys to Classic Yoyos, Streamline Your Workflow

Growth cannot be stopped, but it must face the challenges on the way. How your brand conquers the challenges ensures the speed of your business’s growth and profit. No wonder the toy market in India is booming, but the industry’s dynamism cannot be avoided.

 Just as you win by using strategies on all those board games in the toy industry, you should use the right strategies for your business, too! And here, the right strategies mean to invest in the right tools! So what’s the wait? Now, you are aware of what to look for in your solution. Let the game begin!

FAQs on Toy Industry in India

1. How do you manage inventory for seasonal toy trends effectively?

Inventory for seasonal toy trends can be managed effectively by implementing robust inventory management software that provide real-time visibility and accurate stock forecasts. The live count ensures the accuracy and productivity of the business.

2. Which marketplace is the biggest in India’s toy e-commerce market?

Amazon and Firstcry are the two leading marketplaces in India’s toy e-commerce market. These platforms are known for their extensive range, wide reach, and significant consumer base, making them the top choices for toy shoppers.

3. What are the changing trends in India’s toy e-commerce market?

The changes in India’s toy e-commerce market are that parents’ preference has shifted towards learning-based toys and toys made with safer materials that are non-toxic, non-chemical, safe to chew, and eco-friendly.

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