• by Maria Bailey , Columnist, February 19, 2016

Tell children to play with toys and they will grab their tablets first, thanks to the continued blending of traditional and digital toys. This week, a new study we conducted, and released at the Digital Kids Conference (at Toy Fair), reveals what moms are willing to spend, and how and why they buy. 

Parents are willing to spend big money for smart connected toys. 

• 65% say they would pay more for a smart connected toy (versus traditional toy) or on average $41-60 per toy.

• Another 23% of parents would spend upwards to $80 or more for a connected toy. 

• The spend is high and threshold low for parents who are driving a smart connected toy market, projected to hit $2.8 billion by the end of 2015.

Today’s moms, particularly millennials, were raised with technology that has had a tremendous impact on toy-buying decisions for their children. When they decide to buy, these tech-savvy moms do their research. They rely heavily on “word of mom,” online reviews, and of course, what the connected toy offers in education and entertainment value.”

Aside from a simple ask (which drives 53% of parents to purchase), parents are overwhelmingly swayed by the promise of learning.  

• When purchasing connected toys, games and apps, 65% of moms look for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) content, arguably one of the hottest trends of 2015. 

• Surprisingly, only 28% of parents said they choose connected toys that promote creative/imaginative play. 

• Of those kids with connected toys, 40% of their moms say their children spend equal time playing with the physical features as they do the digital elements.

As traditional toys take on a new life, offering a level of connectivity and interactivity like never before seen, parents are eager to purchase, but not without doing their homework first. Before they buy, 66% of parents research, read reviews and talk to other parents for connected toy recommendations. 

• Before buying, moms read product reviews 88% of the time. 

• Additionally, 71% of parents look to blogs for product recommendations, and 60% of parents ask other parents for recommendations. 

• While consumer reviews are key, moms will skip the stars and reviews completely if another mom friend recommends a game, app or toy. 

Toy brands and designers will do well to take note of these numbers, answering the demand for educational and creative toys, apps and games that please parents while keeping kids entertained. What do you see in the smart connected toy market? Leave a comment and/or tweet me @momtalkradio to continue the conversation.