According to a new report, Lego has achieved the largest increase in online visibility within the toy store market over the past year.
Salience Search Marketing’s annual sector report uncovers the industry’s leaders based on their online prominence and visibility.
The report analysed 11 crucial performance indicators, including year-on-year visibility, search volume trends, and brand awareness, for toy store brands, to reveal the industry’s most successful names. The full report is available to view here.
Online Visibility Growth
Central to this analysis is each brand’s online visibility ranking, which is determined by the organic search traffic their website attracts. This metric is vital for understanding the website’s overall growth or decline.
| Rank | Brands with the biggest growth in visibility YoY | Traffic Score 2024 | Traffic Score 2023 | YoY Visibility Change |
| 1 | Lego | 1,624,216 | 1,385,567 | +17% |
| 2 | The Entertainer | 758,986 | 635,687 | +19% |
| 3 | Disney Store | 338,317 | 75 | +450989% |
| 4 | Mattel | 191,628 | 56,638 | +238% |
| 5 | Tonies | 139,068 | 67,262 | +107% |
This year, it was a productive period for Lego with the popular brand increasing its online visibility by 17%. In 2024, Lego records a traffic score of 1,624,216.
Furthermore, The Entertainer, grew its visibility – improving by 19% in comparison to 2023’s data. The brand now has a traffic score of 758,986.
The Disney Store with the hub for all Disney products exploding saw a 450989% increase. The brand’s traffic score was 75 just 12 months ago and has risen to above 330,000.
Mattel had a great year for visibility – tripling its traffic score in comparison to 2023.
Lastly, it was also an effective 12 months for Tonies, with the brand growing visibility by more than double (107%). Tonies saw a traffic score of 139,068.
Online Visibility Decline
| Rank | Brands with the biggest drop in visibility YoY | Traffic Score 2024 | Traffic Score 2023 | YoY Visibility Change |
| 1 | Jelly Cat | 250,577 | 276,257 | -9% |
| 2 | Toys R Us | 69,767 | 98,741 | -29% |
| 3 | Shop Disney | 3,663 | 347,943 | -99% |
| 4 | Play Mobil | 51 | 35,487 | -100% |
| 5 | LOL Surprise | 27 | 10,555 | -100% |
On the opposite end of the scale, it was a worrying year for Jelly Cat, which saw its visibility drop by 9% compared to 2023’s data. The brand now records a traffic score of 250,577.
Additionally, Toys R Us met a similar fate as it returned to high streets, with its online presence declining by 29%.
Shop Disney saw its online visibility drop dramatically, by 99% with a traffic score of 3,663 for 2024. This is understandable as the store migrated to a different site – the Disney Store.
Play Mobil will need to quickly revisit its strategy, following a 100% drop in online visibility. The brand has gone from a traffic score of over 35,000 to 51 – highlighting a worrying year for the brand.
For LOL Surprise, known for its range of dolls and other toy products, it was a similar story with the brand’s visibility also decreasing by 100%. LOL Surprise now records a traffic score of 27.
Brett Janes, managing director at Salience Search Marketing, said:
“In such a competitive market such as the toy store sector, the importance of strong online visibility cannot be underestimated. Brands such as Lego, The Entertainer and the Disney Store have had extremely productive years – as highlighted by their increased traffic scores.
“However, brands such as Jelly Cat and Toys R Us will need to quickly assess their strategy moving forward, to avoid further reductions in visibility before it harms custom.”
The full Toy Store Report 2024 is available to read and download here.
