YouTube kid critics driving up toy sales

NEW ORLEANS -- Every year there's one must-have toy that every kid wants, the one toy that flies off the shelf, fueling the holiday frenzy.

But the days of catalogs and Saturday morning commercials are long gone. Instead, it's the number of YouTube views that may determine what will be under the Christmas tree.

And it's these tiny toy critics, or influencers as they are now called, who have an increasingly powerful say over toy makers.

'It only works if you allow the authenticity of the kid's voice to come through,' said Krista Diberardino, the chief marketing officer for Spin Master. 'Just like the adult social media world, it has to be true. It has to be authentic.'

While YouTube will never replace television marketing, it's definitely adding to how the toy industry markets its toys. It's a trend that toy makers say has exploded in just the last year, and it's bloomed into a lucrative business for many young digital darlings.

But no one does it better than 8-year-old Evan, who according to Business Insider, makes $1.3 million a year posting videos online.

He is YouTube's most popular kid, raking in over a billion views between his three channels, one of which is dedicated to reviewing toys, which has 800 million views by itself.

Spin Master says he's helped boost sales for their Spy Gear toys by over 60 percent this year.

'He reviews most of our boy toys that we bring to the market, and we now have an official partnership with him,' Diberardino said. 'He's been in a number of our commercials.'

'We learned growing up that you had to go online and check out and find out before you bought the car, and now our kids are doing it,' said Rob Richardson, the Gentilly Walmart store manager.

Richardson said the retailer has now started bringing its own tiny experts to find out what kids really want to see on their shelves.

'They actually called in 1,000 kids that they interview and they really ask them, what is your favorite item that you want for the holidays?' he said. 'And they were able to dissect that and pick out the top 20 items for Christmas.'

Richardson said his new Walmart in Gentilly is taking it one step further by offering toys you will only find in their store.

'We actually went out and bought a lot of the Kenya dolls, and they've been really popular.'

Walmart says a lot of the classics refreshed for today's kids are also in high demand this year.

But no matter what kids are into, one thing's for sure -- they will be looking for it online.

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