People shop at Target on Thanksgiving Day in Burbank, California November 22, 2012. The shopping frenzy known as "Black Friday" kicked off at a more civilized hour welcomed by some shoppers this year, with retailers like Target Corp and Toys R U
People shop at Target on Thanksgiving Day in Burbank, California November 22, 2012. The shopping frenzy known as "Black Friday" kicked off at a more civilized hour welcomed by some shoppers this year, with retailers like Target Corp and Toys R Us moving their openings earlier into Thursday night. Picture taken November 22, 2012. Reuters

Toy shopping in Canada is witnessing many interesting trends. There are frenzied parents fighting the mad rush of the shopping season to gift their kids the most popular toys. Some of the toys in hot demand are just flying off the shelves. According to the analysis of Google Canada trends analyst Aaron Brindle, some major toy search terms topped Canada in 2014. The top trending toys that saw the largest jump in demand, compared to 2013, were:

  • American Girl
  • Elsa Doll
  • Xbox One
  • Rainbow Loom

Top Searched Toys

Among the top five most-searched toys in Canada in 2014, regardless of trends were:

  • PlayStation
  • Rainbow Loom
  • Barbie
  • Xbox One
  • Lego

A sizable section of parents have taken the online route in toy shopping. It made them avoid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and the pain of wading through the rush such as last-minute gift shopping and sifting through thousands of toys. This is apart from the tedious travel to the shops, including parking woes, reported Huffington Post Canada.

Virtual Toy Shopping

To make life easy for high-flying shoppers, Mattel and Walmart Canada joined hands with their unique Virtual Toy Store. This mobile-based, digital shopping experience is now available at the busiest Toronto Pearson International Airport. In this unique, interactive, one-stop virtual shop, a person can get the hottest toys from Mattel. The time-crunched business travellers and gift-givers can now head home with an enjoyable, hassle-free shopping experience during the waiting time to board the next flight.

Says Melissa Farjo from Mattel, "We are taking mobile shopping one step further and providing Canadian travellers with the fun and interactive digital shopping experience that is fully personalised by the user and controlled in the palm of their hand."

The Virtual Toy Store features three LCD screens, which the buyers can personalise and control via their mobile devices to browse and shop the hottest toys from Mattel. They include Barbies, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, Mega Bloks and Monster High. It was launched on Nov 25. "Here the toy shopping can be done in a holiday mood without getting bogged down by the stress of shopping," said Cheri Anthony, director of merchandising, toys at Walmart Canada.

The Virtual Toy Store carries all trendy and hottest toys. The toys are accessible, interactive and convenient for the busy air traveller, reports Newswire Canada.