Toy makers are bracing themselves for incoming tariff impacts as the Trump administration’s August 1 deadline fast approaches, and finding cost-cutting measures by removing value-adds such as batteries.
Packaging and related frills are part of the duty-absorbing belt-tightening, Reuters reports.
Toy makers serving retail giants like Walmart, Target and Amazon are reducing the number of accessories in toy kitchen sets, removing batteries from electronic playsets, simplifying doll make-up and reducing packaging.
It comes after China and the US agreed on a trade arrangement that sees American duties on Chinese imports decreased to 30%.
Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on China are particularly painful for companies like Hasbro and Mattel as 80% of their toys are sold in the US, trade group The Toy Association has said.
Educational toy maker Popular Playthings – whose China-made animal sets, trucks, and magnetic food sets can be bought on Amazon – is delaying and paring down a magnetic cake set it had planned to launch in June, CEO Jason Cheung said in an interview.
The company is reducing the power of the magnet, using cheaper packaging, and removing one of two serving plates that were to come with the set – all while upping the price from $29.99 to $34.99.
"Originally it would come with two plates so two kids can have cake at the same time,” Cheung said.
Now, the cutlery has been halved.
Four months away from the December holiday season and tariff-related price hikes are expected to put a dent in Christmas cheer for children.
Toy maker Basic Fun!, which sources most of its products from China, makes 40% of its annual sales in North America through Amazon, meaning the company can't risk removing merchandise from the ubiquitous e-commerce platform this holiday season, CEO Jay Foreman told Reuters.
The company, which also sells to Walmart and Target, was offering retailers the option to remove batteries from the packages of its electronic toys, and planned to reduce or remove its toys’ packaging in 2026, said Foreman.
