Barbie will be making a comeback this Christmas according to leading retail experts. The iconic fashion doll is set to be the number one children's toy of Christmas 2022, according to online marketplace OnBuy.
Barbie, which was first launched in 1959, has experienced a resurgence amongst youngsters in recent years. Between 2011 and 2015 however, the Barbie brand lost popularity, with the toy's appeal waning and its image viewed as outdated.
The Barbie Fashionista line was created however and updated with dolls of different shapes, sizes, body types, skin colour, and hair colour. This is when Mattel, the company behind Barbie, began seeing a change in fortune.
In 2020, sales of the toy hit $1.35bn (£940m), the highest since 2014. Then, in 2021, Barbie then went on to experience its biggest sales growth ever, and the brand is now foreseeing a growth of 8% to 10% in 2022.
In early 2023, a movie adaptation of the toy is set to be released directed by Greta Gerwig. Due to the hype building around the upcoming Barbie movie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the experts predict Barbie-mania will reach fever pitch at Christmas.
Liam Tickner, Category Manager at OnBuy said: "Barbie is an iconic toy, which has kept multiple generations entertained. Although the doll fell out of favour with children in the 2010s, recently Barbie has seen a surge in popularity, and our trends insight points towards her topping the 2022 Christmas toy charts.
"Excitement around the hotly anticipated Barbie film is definitely feeding into the dolls popularity. The closer we get to the film's release, the more hype is going to build.
"Recently we have seen a number of Barbie products selling well. Not just dolls but accessories, such as the Barbie 3-in-1 Dream Camper, plus branded products including Top Trumps and toothbrushes. People are snapping them up."
Alongside Barbie, OnBuy experts predict other classics such as LEGO® products and the Nintendo switch will also be extremely popular Christmas 2022 gifts.
Here is OnBuy’s full list of predicted Christmas bestsellers.
- Barbie doll and accessories - £34.99
- Barbie Princess Adventures - Prince Ken - £13.99
- Colgate Barbie Kids Battery Toothbrush - £5.45
- Nintendo Switch - £248.98
- LEGO® Star Wars Imperial Shuttle - £62.99
