Children toy with new forms of leisure

Old-fashioned games give way to electronic devices, gadgets

For Wu Jia, a 14-year-old student from Guangdong province, building blocks and model cars - toys with which he used to happily play - are no longer attractive.

An iPad, which he bought with his hongbao (red envelope) a year ago, now occupies his spare time.

He normally uses the device to go online and play games once a week when he returns home from school. "The iPad and iPhone are the most popular distractions among my classmates," he said.

Wu's two younger brothers also quickly fell in love with the high-tech gadget produced by US-based Apple Inc. "They (the younger brothers) have an iPad and an iPod Touch now. Our mother usually allows them to play as a reward when they behave well," Wu said.

Just like Wu, Chinese children, especially those living in cities, are developing a strong interest in high-tech electronic devices, analysts have discovered.

"If we look around, children are borrowing iPads and iPhones from their parents. They turn out to be quick learners and have much fun with their new favorite 'toys'," said Xiong Xiaokun, an analyst at CIConsulting.

"Electronic toys and devices, including iPads and smartphones, are eating up an increasingly large share in the Chinese 'toy' market," Xiong said. "Traditional children's presents such as dolls and toy cars have encountered a strong challenge."

What is happening in China now has already emerged in the United States. According to a survey conducted by Nielsen, about half of US children, aged between 6 and 12, wanted an iPad as the No 1 present last Christmas. The Nintendo Wii, iPod Touch, iPad Mini and iPhone are the top five children's dream gifts, the survey revealed.

On Taobao.com, China's largest e-commerce website, sales of electronic toys are on the rise.

Total sales of electronic toys in December were more than six times those a year earlier. The number of people who purchased this category rose by 367 percent over the same period, according to figures provided by Taobao.

The hottest items included handheld game consoles, Hasbro Inc's interactive robotic Furby toy and plastic Talking Tom Cat that can recite poems, tell stories and sing.

About 40 percent of the buyers in this category are aged between 30 and 34. "They are parents with children and most of the things they buy are children's toys," said Taobao in an e-mail to China Daily.

Game consoles followed with a 269 percent year-on-year increase in sales in December. The number of shoppers that bought this category more than quintupled from a year earlier.

Products of Microsoft Corp, Nintendo Co and Sony Corp were the most popular, attracting mainly male buyers aged between 18 and 29, said Taobao.

Tablet computers, which enjoy great popularity among Chinese tech-savvy users, also saw a 45 percent rise in sales in December compared with the same period in 2011. Although those aged between 18 and 29 formed the largest proportion of buyers of this category, some vendors tried to cash in on younger customers.

A search on Taobao for children's tablet computers shows more than 1,800 items. They look like a handheld game console or Apple Inc's iPad, but combine the functions of learning and entertainment.

"The reason electronic devices capture children's attention is because they are innovative, easily satisfy their curiosity and have powerful functions," said Zhang Chao, an electronic product vendor in Beijing's Zhongguancun district.

Successful marketing campaigns are necessary weapons for electronic companies to win in the children's market, Zhang said. "Take Apple for example. It offered free iPads to schools and launched ads on China's most popular cartoon TV channel. Those moves helped Apple products penetrate children's lives," he added.