According to The NPD Group, the birth rate might not be booming (except in my family—both my nieces are pregnant), but parents are spending big on products for their children. It reports juvenile products brought in revenues of $7.35 billion last year, a 6.5% jump over 2019. NPD reports six of the seven measured industry baby categories “experienced dollar volume growth.”

The highest growth was in the safety category, which hit $587.5 million in sales, up 35% from 2019. Plus, all subcategories within the safety group had increased revenues, led by the sale of health & grooming products and baby gates.

Furniture sales had the second-largest dollar growth, coming in at $952.1 million, up 17% from 2019. Sales of cribs, toddler beds, and children’s and baby furniture led the way in this category. (Pictured above is my great-niece Jayne in her new crib.)

Coming in third was the entertainment category, which reached $963.6 million in sales. Products generating the most growth were activity seats/jumpers and swings. But two entertainment subcategories were down—mobiles and infant plush (stuffed animals). Also, travel, the largest category in the juvenile products industry (it usually represents about one-third of industry SALES), was down 6%. Since everyone stayed close to home last year, this sales decline, which included all five travel subcategories, isn’t surprising.

The other categories, feeding (+5%), bed bath (+8%), and mobility furniture (+10%), all experienced sales growth.

NPD’s Juvenile Products industry advisor, Juli Lennett, says COVID-19 obviously impacted sales. But she expects, “as families with babies and toddlers feel safer out in public, potentially driven by the vaccine, sales will be more evenly distributed across categories like what they were prior to the pandemic.”

As we told you last month, toy sales continue to boom, making kids’ products an excellent opportunity for years to come.