What you need to know
The nursery and baby equipment market entered a period of decline in 2018 and is expected to have declined further in 2019, with sales down by approximately 2.8%, from £916 million to £890 million. This means that on average £231 is spent per child aged 0-4 in the UK, down from £234 in 2018. The market has been rather turbulent over the last two years – with two specialists exiting the market. In 2018 Toys R Us, alongside its baby specialist arm Babies R Us, exited the market. Following this, in late 2019 Mothercare decided to call it a day after years of attempting to turn things around, including selling off its Early Learning Centre toy chain and entering a CVA in 2018. Shortly after, Mamas & Papas announced it too had entered administration, five years after it cut rents via a CVA.
These store closures led to the market being flooded with cheap goods, making it difficult for competitors to gain full-price sales. The market is becoming increasingly competitive with many parents turning to non-specialists such as supermarkets and Amazon for price and convenience.
Products covered in this Report
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
In-home safety equipment – including safety gates, eg stair gates, fireguards, baby monitors and general-purpose household protection goods (plug blocks, fridge locks, etc), which are aimed at babies and toddlers.
Furniture and nursery equipment – including cots, cribs, Moses baskets, bedding, highchairs, booster seats, baby changing units and playpens. Mattresses and furniture accessories are also profiled within this product grouping.
Activity – including bouncers, swings and rocker chairs.
Feeding and hygiene equipment – including feeding and hygiene equipment (bottles, sterilisers, soothers etc), changing bags and mats, baths and bath accessories, toilet training equipment (potties, trainer toilet seats etc).
Baby carriages (wheeled goods) and accessories – including prams, pushchairs, buggies, convertibles (eg ‘two-in-ones’ and ‘three-in-ones’), harnesses, papooses, baby carriers and accessories marketed as suitable to be used with a pram or pushchair such as parasols, sun canopies, rain covers, insect nets, foot muffs, liners, bag clips and additional basket. This category also includes car seats sold as part of an integrated transport system.
Car seats and in-car restraints – such as seats, car booster seats and related accessories. With regard to car seats, it includes those seats that cannot be integrated with a travel system.
Hipseat – a seat that provides a firm shelf for the child to sit on and supports their increasingly heavy weight from underneath, thus eliminating the causes of back pain.
Products excluded from this Report:
Excluded from this Report are products such as baby clothing, nappies, baby toiletries, baby milk, foods, toys and other consumables, as well as more general household items which are not baby-specific.
What consumers spend on second-hand goods is outside the scope of this Report but is discussed with respect to the impact of their sale on the market for new equipment.
