Visiting the new grandbaby with a carful of toys then taking older grandkids to their favorite toy stores to pick out something special is a rite of passage for many grandparents. Grandparents indulge their grandkids, and marketers must understand what a significant portion of the toy-buying market Nanny and Pop Pop are, both in-store and online.

“Grandparents have been indulging their grandkids for ‘eons’ with stories, attention, special meals and experiences,” according to Amy Goyer, AARP’s family and caregiving expert in an MarketWatch article written last year. “That lavishing is ‘their role, it’s not a parent’s role, and that’s part of the joy.’”

Notable Stats About Grandma And Grandpa’s Toy Buying Habit

• 86% of grandparents spend money on gifts for their grandkids.
• Grandparents average annual spending on grandchildren is more than $2,500, with $805 spent on gifts.
• Of the $28 billion spent on toys annually, grandparents spend $7 billion.
• Online shopping is growing 2x faster for grandparents than any other audience segment.
• Grandparents spend 3.5x more per toy when they purchase online vs. shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.

Toy Marketing Outreach Targeting Grandparents Should Be Multichannel And Include Out-Of-Home Fun

Grandparents are taking to the online market very well, but the older generation is still interested in in-store experiences they can share with their grandchildren. In order to target grandparent toy buyers, marketers and retailers need to understand what grandparents want and, as with all market segments, not use “one size fits all” approaches. Roger Bildsten, former board member of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), shared some tips on properly targeting grandparents:

1. Recognize grandparents as toy buyers.
2. Understand not all grandparent toy buyers fit the same consumer profile.
3. Have a strategy to engage each segment of grandparent toy buyers.
4. Realize that you need grandparent toy buyers to boost your sales, and they need you to understand what toys are best to purchase for their grandchildren.

Small toy retailers have found success with discounts, events, product suggestions and memberships. Grandparents Day, this year held on September 8^th, is an ideal time to host events, as former toy giant Toys R Us used to do.

Email Is Effective When Marketing Toys To Grandparents

Grandparents are online, with 87% of young Baby Boomers considered “internet users” and three-quarters using smartphones. The young Baby Boomer generation was the early adopters of email, and email is still an effective channel to reach this audience. Particularly during the holidays, email campaigns can include guides like “Top Gifts Grandchildren Want This Holiday Season,” with clear calls to action and landing pages offering grandparents the toy-buying information they are likely seeking.

When targeting any segmented audience, it’s important for marketers not to approach the task monolithically. For instance, more than 21 million users over 65 are on Facebook, so a multichannel campaign from toy manufacturers and retailers should include some social media, but clearly social media isn’t where all the attention should be focused. Grandparents are less likely to seamlessly shop directly from social platforms like younger consumers. Instead, a successful toy marketing campaign to grandparents should include respecting the grandparent audience by matching their preferred shopping methods with properly implemented digital marketing that includes helpful content to support their toy buying decisions.

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