Stroller and Co.
Parents spend a little less for baby equipment
Strollers often cost several hundred euros. Together with a car seat and baby toys, the 1000 euro limit was quickly exceeded in the first few years. In the end, however, parents expressed a little less.
Most recently, parents have spent a little less for strollers, car children’s seats and baby toys. If an average of 1,160 euros per child came together in 2023 for the first three years of life, a year later, the value was 1,138 euros, as the Federal Association of Technical Trade Trade (BVS) announced in Cologne. Overall, the 2024 annual turnover market decreased by seven percent to a good 2.4 billion euros.
BVS managing director Steffen Kahnt sees demographic development as one cause of the decline. The number of newborns in 2024 dropped by two percent. On the other hand, as in other industries, there is also a supply of purchase from consumers. “Many young parents buy much more consciously today and compare more-quality and price have to be right,” said the deputy BVS managing director Franziska Köster. This applies to strollers as well as to toys or clothes.
Strollers become intelligent
In Germany, a good 646,000 strollers and buggies were sold in Germany, 3.2 percent less than a year earlier. The association emphasized that strollers would develop step by step from a pure means of transport to a smart companion in everyday family life. For example, there are models with electrical sliding aids or automatic brakes and sensors that could recognize obstacles. For the current year, the association again expects higher sales figures.
According to BVS, new technology is also moving in with the car seats. “The next generation of car seats uses sensors and AI to further increase security and comfort,” it said. Such seats would automatically recognize whether children are buckled correctly and could monitor temperature and seating position. The number of seats sold remained at a good two million at the previous year’s level. In the case of baby and toddler toys, sales in 2024 fell by eleven percent to 562 million euros.
dpa
Source: Stern
