Milton Keynes, UK, 2014-11-7— /EPR Retail News/ — Generations of children have grown up anticipating the excitement of seeing what Santa has left in their stockings or under the tree. Happily, fresh research out this morning from the UK’s number one toy retailer, Argos, has revealed that festive family traditions around Christmas are still firmly alive.
Modern parents work hard helping busy Santa to create the magic of Christmas for children up and down the country. Almost half (46 per cent) sneak a bite of Santa’s mince pie and Rudolf’s carrot. While one in four will be planting footprints or “reindeer” droppings around the fireplace, and even ringing sleigh bells, before going to bed on Christmas Eve1.
The research from Argos affirms that, far from being a generation of cynics, today’s children are now searching for new and innovative ways to communicate with Santa, with a rapidly-growing 12 per cent already using technology to do so.
British children are firm advocates of technology, according to Ofcom’s latest Communications Market report, with seven in ten telling their friends and family about new tech. Younger kids are leading the way, with 60 per cent of children aged six to eleven years claiming to use tablets every week, leaving behind their parents (38 per cent) and even overtaking their over-the-hill teenage siblings (49 per cent)2.
The Argos research shows that one in five under-10s still circle presents in the Argos catalogue to share what they want to see under the tree. The top toy retailer has been working to bring the thrill of scouring its catalogue for gifts to a whole new level this Christmas.
Millions of digitally savvy children will now be able to get their hands on a brand new, intuitive app that brings the magical tradition of building wish lists for Santa, from the retailer’s range of 3,000 toys, into the 21st century.
The Argos Wishlist app is aimed at three to seven-year-olds, and allows children to choose their most-wanted gifts in a bright, colourful and engaging way on a phone or tablet, with guidance from animated helpers. So, as their kids start counting down the number of sleeps till Christmas, parents can take a peek at their little one’s hearts’ desires.
Neil Tinegate, Head of Digital Innovation for Argos said: “Argos has been firmly part of Christmas for over 40 years. We were really excited to see our research showing that UK families are still so dedicated to creating a real festive spirit in their homes.
“Young children are already so confident with the latest technology and we wanted to help parents keep up and add even more seasonal joy this year. This new app brings to life the magic of Christmas for the next generation.”
Developed for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, the app offers parents useful functionality such as setting price and present limits, and bright and quirky visuals to make it an easy and engaging experience for kids and adults alike.
On opening the app children are introduced to a colourful digital world where they are invited to select one of the animated helpers Mo, Stik, Gil, Squidge and Fly to help them navigate around the experience.
After picking their favourite character, kids take a photo of themselves within the app and add their name. They can then browse over 3,000 of Argos’ most popular toys from top brands such as Chad Valley, Lego and Barbie before adding them to a mood board, which they can personalise by drawing and circling toys with different coloured pens and placing stickers on their must-have items.
Once the list is complete, the wish list will be sent to Santa – and helpfully also emailed to parents’ inboxes for sharing with family and friends.
The Argos Wishlist is now available to download for free from the App Store and Google Play store.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
- The research for Argos was carried out by Opinion Matters during October 2014, across a sample of 1,159 parents in the UK.
- Ofcom’s Communications Market report 2014 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr14/
For Argos’ complete range of toys this Christmas, please visit http://www.argos.co.uk/toys
For more information, please contact the Argos Press Office on 0845 120 4365 or email: media.relations@argos.co.uk.
Follow us on Twitter at @argos_PR.
About Argos:
Argos is a leading UK digital retailer, offering around 43,000 products through www.argos.co.uk, its growing mobile channels, stores and over the telephone.
Argos continues to be the UK’s largest high street retailer online with around 123m customer transactions a year through its stores and 738 million website and app visits in the 12 months to February 2014. Customers can take advantage of Argos’ convenient Check & Reserve service available through its network of 734 stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
In the financial year to February 2014, Argos sales were £4.1 billion and it employed some 29,000 people across the business.
Argos is part of Home Retail Group, the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer.
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