Digital content is driving demand for physical toys in India, says Mattel

Mumbai: As childhoods shift from playgrounds to interactive touch screens, toy companies might have been expected to be among the first casualties. Instead, rising screen time is making Indian children buy more toys, according to a top executive of Mattel.

For the world's second-largest toy maker, digital content is inspiring children to recreate the worlds they experience online, driving demand for everything from dolls and race cars to castles and collectables.

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"That shift in consumer behaviour, coupled with India's rising incomes and the world's largest child population, is making the country one of Mattel's most important long-term growth markets," Sanjay Luthra, global chief commercial officer, told ET in an exclusive interaction.

The company sees India as a market where rising disposable incomes, rapid smartphone penetration and evolving retail infrastructure are converging to create a significant long-term opportunity.

While the US remains Mattel's largest market, Luthra said India stands out for both its consumer potential and its role in the company's future supply chain.

India's domestic toy market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2034.

"The Indian consumer is not much different," he said. "The play patterns are evolving the same way."

What makes India unique, according to Luthra, is that it is "at its inflection point", with purchasing power and organised retail continuing to expand alongside one of the world's youngest populations.

Mattel is also strengthening India as a manufacturing base, with products made here increasingly serving global markets.

India's toy exports reached $186 million in FY26, with locally manufactured toys now shipped to 153 countries. On the other hand, toy imports have fallen by 71% since 2019.

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"India is one of the key supply chain hubs for Mattel," Luthra said. "Whatever we manufacture here, we also take to the rest of the world."

The maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels has identified a fundamental shift in how children play.

According to Mattel, digital media and physical play have become complementary rather than competing forces. Instead of replacing toys, online storytelling is encouraging children to build entire worlds around the characters they watch.

"If earlier, a child had one Barbie doll, today she wants the castle, the horse, the cart and the pet she has seen in the stories online," Luthra said.

This behavioural shift is also changing the lifecycle of a toy consumer. While children may be moving on to beauty, fashion and social media earlier than previous generations, Luthra said they are engaging more deeply with brands during that time before eventually returning to the category.