Monday, July 20, 2026
Exclusive Barometer of Specialist Games & Toys Stores Summer 2026
Squishies, sales and trends in the toy market.
Between the May bank holidays, the intense heat, Mother's Day and Father's Day and the Football World Cup, May and June were busy... but contrasting months for specialist stores.
Yoganoel and La Revue du Jouet once again give a voice to the stores through this Exclusive Barometer, to decipher the activity, sales and trends that marked the approach to summer 2026.
🎯 Objective?
Better understand purchasing behaviors and field dynamics before the holidays.
☀️ May - June 2026: Overall, decent but mixed performance
The specialist stores in our panel experienced a rather positive period, despite the May bank holidays, the high temperatures and sometimes less regular customer traffic.
The stores particularly highlight the impact of bridges and heat on customer traffic, with results sometimes very different depending on the region.
📊 Summer 2026 vs 2025: An overall positive trend
Activity compared to 2025
Up: 40.9%
Stable: 36.4%
Down: 22.7%
A period of contrasts, but with more than three-quarters of stores showing stable or increasing activity compared to 2025.
Customer traffic and average spend: More irregular consumption
Store traffic: 6.6/10
Key calendar events, new products, and certain trends have helped to maintain
traffic, despite an overall lower level of foot traffic in several stores.
Evolution of average basket size:
Up: 13.6%
Stable: 63.6%
Down: 22.7%
Stores are observing more contrasting purchases with small impulse baskets, but also larger purchases of trendy products, outdoor items, water games or gifts.
📦 Supply & logistics: Persistent tensions
Delivery satisfaction: 5.8/10
Delays related to the May bank holidays, missing or damaged products and availability difficulties weighed on the period.
⚠️ 68.2% of stores experienced stock shortages during this period, particularly for Pokémon.
and the Squishies.
🧸 The Squishy phenomenon is boosting activity
Squishies have established themselves as one of the major commercial phenomena of early summer.
2026.
Highly sought after by all age groups, these trendy little products generate sales
impulse purchases and in-store traffic.
They are among the most frequently mentioned products in stores, and also among the top references.
more affected by the breakups.
Alongside Squishies, several other trends stand out:
Panini cards
Slime
TCG
Demon Hunters K-Pop License
👉 Highly visible on social media, these products quickly create a fashion trend and accelerate sales on the shelves.
🧸 The categories and licenses that drive the market
Construction toys have once again established themselves as the top-performing category.
with more than 80% of the votes.
The following are:
Board games: 59.1%
Outdoor games and water games: 36.3%
Creative hobbies: 22.7%
Regarding trends:
Squishies
Panini cards
Slime
TCG
K-Pop Demon Hunters
👉 The traditional categories remain solid, but trendy and collectible products are significantly accelerating commercial momentum.
🧑🦱 The kidult phenomenon is confirmed
Demand level: 7.5 / 10
Kidults remain particularly prevalent on:
Pokémon cards
building games
Collectible products
👉 Stable and sustainable demand, driven by the collection, new products and the worlds of
passion.
👑 The star products of Summer 2026
Among the best-selling items:
LEGO
Pokémon
Squishies
Flip 7
Outdoor games and toys
Sports products related to the Football World Cup
Squishies confirm their ability to generate impulse purchases, while football, outdoor activities and water games naturally support sales as the holidays approach.
💡Purchasing criteria: Novelty and social media are the top priorities
What criteria influenced the purchases?
The new feature: 68.2%
Social media: 59.1%
Availability: 45.4%
The price: 40.9%
The license: 31.8%
The discount: 27.3%
Seller recommendation: 18.2%
The catalog: 9.1%
TV advertising: 9.1%
The children's list: 9.1%
Holiday departures: 4.5%
👉 A major change:
➡ Novelty remains the primary driver of purchases
➡ Social media accelerates trend phenomena
➡ Price and promotions are once again playing an important role in families' choices
📢 The most effective communication levers
Social media in stores: 86.4%
In-store promotions: 59.1%
Catalogues: 59.1%
👉 Local social networks are clearly becoming the primary lever for publicizing new products, promoting new arrivals and generating traffic to points of sale.
☀️ Highlights of the period
Mother's Day: 63.6%
Football World Cup: 50.0%
Mother's Day stands out very clearly, ahead of Father's Day. The Football World Cup, the intense heat, and the long weekends in May also influenced the
attendance and sales.
👉 Key commercial events and current trends have helped to support activity despite a more uncertain context.
🌴 Summer 2026: Measured confidence
With confidence: 36.4%
With caution: 31.8%
Too early to tell: 31.8%
👉 So stores are approaching the summer with measured optimism, counting on water games, the outdoors, holidays, and current trends to support business.
🔎 Key points to remember
✔️ Overall, decent activity, but marked by long weekends and heat
✔️ Construction toys remain the best-performing category
✔️ Squishies become one of the major commercial phenomena of summer 2026
✔️ Stock shortages remain a major obstacle, especially for Pokémon and trending products.
✔️ Novelty and social media strongly influence purchases
✔️ Store social media is becoming the primary tool for local communication
✔️ Stores are approaching summer with confidence, but also caution
Thank you to our partners KAPLA and Toynamics France for their support of this edition of the Summer 2026 Barometer.
📘 Methodology
Survey conducted via an online questionnaire with 23 specialist stores:
7 JouéClub
7 King Jouet
5 The Big Recess
4 Sajou Toys
2/3 in the suburbs – 1/3 in the city center
Scale from 1 to 10
📬 Next appointment
👉 Exclusive Store Barometer – Back to School 2026
Article written by Yoganoel