Roy Morgan Research
December 07, 2020

What tops Aussie kids’ 2020 Cool List? Netflix, Minecraft, iPads and iPhones

Topic: Press Release
Finding No: 8587
RMR Logo

Roy Morgan’s annual retail sales forecast, released in conjunction with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), indicates Australians will spend more than $54.3 billion during the Christmas trading period. A solid part of this will go on gifts for children. 

Roy Morgan’s annual retail sales forecast, released in conjunction with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), indicates Australians will spend more than $54.3 billion during the Christmas trading period. A solid part of this will go on gifts for children. 

Of course it’s the thought that counts, but for those who aren’t quite sure whether they’re up to date on what kids really like right now, the Kids’ Cool List from Roy Morgan’s Young Australians Survey offers some inspiration.

Netflix tops the 2020 list — for the third year in a row — with the streaming service declared “really cool” by 62% of 6-9 year olds and 70% of 10-13 year olds. Second in the overall list is Minecraft, riding a renewed wave of popularity. The digital creative building game is especially popular with 10-13 year olds (60%, compared to 54% of 6-9 year olds). Apple’s iPad has dropped a little since topping the list in 2016, but it is still judged cool enough to claim third place overall — and to be the top choice of the 6-9 year olds (64%).

Roy Morgan has been going direct to the source to find out what matters most to Australia’s children since 2004. Each year over 2,000 young Australians aged 6-13 tell us about everything from their hobbies and favourite TV shows to how much pocket money they get, how they like to spend their time, and how they feel about themselves, their families and the world at large.

When it comes to what’s “really cool” right now, other items and brands that get the thumbs-up from the nation’s kids are iPhones (49%); Computers, including Laptops and other Tablets (45%), Nike (42%), Roblox (40%), Harry Potter (just under 40%) and, in equal ninth place, gaming consoles PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (38%).

There is strong crossover between boys’ and girls’ cool lists but there are differences too, with the Girls’ Cool Top 5 consisting of Netflix, iPad, iPhone, Minecraft and Harry Potter, and the Boys’ Cool Top 5 consisting of Minecraft, Netflix, iPad, PlayStation 4 and Spiderman.

For the 6-9 age group, Harry Potter-related items are a perennial favourite, as well as books, Lego and Lion King-related items. Pre-teens and teens are more focused on tech and high-profile shoes and sportswear brands, including Nike and Adidas.
 
Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, says:

Block Quote

“Christmas is just around the corner and every parent, grandparent, aunt and uncle knows that giving gifts to children can be a joyous experience — but we also all know how hard it can be to figure out what’s currently considered cool and what’s not.

“The changing popularity of Fortnite and Minecraft is a good example. Last year Fortnite was just as popular as Minecraft, coming equal sixth on the overall list. But now it has dropped to No. 16 while Minecraft has risen to No. 2, thanks to influential YouTube stars. As ever ‘cool’ is in the eye of the beholder, but kids know it when they see it!”

The 2020 Kids’ Cool List: what Australian kids think is really cool now

Source: Roy Morgan Young Australian Survey, July 2019-June 2020, n=2,083. Base: Australian children 6-13.

About Roy Morgan’s Young Australians Survey

In 2004, Roy Morgan recognised the industry need for research measuring kids’ behaviour, attitudes and media consumption, and developed a nationwide survey of young Australians aged 6 to 13 years.

The Young Australians Survey is the largest continuous survey of this important market, with children recruited from households of existing Roy Morgan Single Source respondents.  Over 2,000 children are surveyed annually.

Reports are released every six months, enabling savvy marketers to stay abreast of kids’ trends and preferences.

The survey analyses kids’ habits and attitudes by Age and Gender, including:

  • What’s cool for kids
  • Media consumption: magazine readership, attitudes to FTA TV programs and Pay TV channels, cinema attendance, Internet usage, websites visited, sports watched on TV
  • Activities and interests  
  • Time spent on activities (e.g. media, sport, homework, online)
  • Buying decisions
  • Disposable income available
  • Money spent/saved
  • Mobile phone usage/purchase/attitudes
  • Food and beverages consumed
  • Attitudes

Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

Related Findings

Back to topBack To Top Arrow