London – 24^th March 2011 – Twenga, the most comprehensive shopping search engine, has seen dramatic increases in searches for outdoor toys as parents and children get ready to take advantage of the holidays and warmer weather.

Toys and games, like sandpits have seen a 119% rise month on month as they are much simpler and often more affordable than high-tech toys preferred during the winter. Water guns, with a 96% rise, are not far behind.

With searches for kids bikes increasing by 94% and roller skates by 89%, the rises focus on products that encourage boys and girls to be active. Trampolines are also among those increasing most rapidly, at 88%.

The results show how parents are using modern technology to find low prices on timeless “old school” toys.

- Many hard-to-find Lalaloopsy Dolls to choose from

- Skitterbots and Hexbugs for hours of play

- The Disney Rapunzel Barbie Doll, complete with hair accessories

- And gifts cards sure to please everyone on your list!

In just one month, visits to baby play mats rocketed 297%, baby walkers rose 129%, and baby gyms were up 116%. While the big classics such as baby mobiles and rattles remain popular, searches are growing much more slowly for these during the usual summer baby toy surge. Rattles were up only 98% and baby mobiles just 87%.

Toy for newborns       Percentage increase in visits in a month

Baby play mat              297%

Baby walker                129%

Baby gym                    116%

Rattle                           98%

Baby mobile                87%

Visits from 27th June to 26th July 2010, compared with same period a month before

The perfect baby shower gift

For baby gyms, the most searched for material is wood, with Winnie the Pooh the favourite theme for 2010. The most popular brands for play mats and baby gyms are Fisher Price, Galt, Mamas and Papas, Tiny Love and Taf Toys.

Top baby gym and playmat brands

Fisher Price

Galt

Mamas and Papas

Tiny Love

Taf Toys

London – December 7^th, 2009 – Twenga, the most comprehensive shopping search engine, report a surge of shoppers visiting the classic toys categories, searching for items such as puzzles and Lego on www.twenga.co.uk.  With searches for puzzles up 95% and Star Wars Lego up 75% the classic toys are set to make a come back this year.

Overall, Twenga found that 38% of UK adults plan to buy toys and games this Christmas when shopping online. Video games and consoles have become a dominant category on their own, with women even more likely to buy them than men (37% to men’s 31%), showing such gifts are a must-have under the Christmas tree.

Source: Twenga, visits 1 December compared with 1 November 2009

For Christmas 2009, what are the main items that you plan to buy online?

Base: 495 respondents

Methodology
Is the recession over, or will it still affect Christmas spending this year? To answer this question, Twenga, conducted its Annual Christmas Spending Survey, asking some 3,000 European internet users what their budget would be for the festive period and how they intend to spend it. The research was done online by Novametrie for Twenga on a representative sample of 3,027 Europeans in France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands between 6 and 13 October 2009.