Top 50 Toy Trends (October 2026)

Toys in 2026: Squeeze It, Collect It, Build It

Toy search in 2026 runs on three verbs. People want something to squeeze, something to collect and something to build, and the biggest numbers on this page sit in exactly those three places. "Needoh", the squeezable stress ball, pulls 3,350,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, up 45x in a year. "Pokemon card" sits at 1,000,000 searches, up +49%. And LEGO's licensed sets, led by "lego pokemon" at 74,000 searches, are producing breakouts almost every month.

This list spans toy, collectible and hobby categories rather than one category, so you will see plush, trading cards, building sets and tabletop games ranked side by side. We rebuilt this list on October 12, 2026 from our live trend database, the same feed that powers the table above. The headline this month: the squishy wave is still the largest story by volume but is past its summer peak, while card infrastructure and licensed brick sets are where steady growth lives.

Monthly searches as of August 2026 from the Rising Trends database. Breakout = the term had almost no searches a year ago.

We do not quote market-size estimates here. The toy market is large and slow, and the interesting part is where the searches are moving inside it, which is what every figure below measures.

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1. The Squishy Wave and Sensory Toys

The single biggest number on this page belongs to a squeeze toy. "Needoh", the gel-filled stress ball made by Schylling, pulls 3,350,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, up 45x year over year. Its six-month change is flat and its three-month change is -45%, which tells you the peak came in late spring and the curve is now settling at a much higher floor than a year ago.

Behind it sits a whole family of squishy searches. "Dumpling squishy" is a breakout at 673,000 searches, a term with almost no volume a year ago, though it has fallen -63% over the past three months. "Squishies" is up 25x in a year to 550,000 searches and is the one squishy term still growing, at +22% over three months and +508% over six. "Squishy toys" is up +812% to 165,000 searches, and the handmade maker "taba squishy" is up +49% at 135,000 searches.

The pattern is a fad with a long tail. Individual viral shapes rise and fall fast, while the generic category keeps climbing.

Why Squishies Are Everywhere

Squeeze toys took over toy search because:

• Short-video fuel: A squeeze, a slow rebound and a satisfying sound make a perfect ten-second clip
• Low price, high frequency: Most squishies cost little enough to be an impulse buy or a party favour
• Adult buyers: Stress relief and desk fidgeting pull in teens and adults, not just kids
• Shape churn: New viral shapes like dumplings and glitter fills give buyers a reason to come back
• Handmade makers: Small sellers like Taba turn the category into a collectible with drops and restocks

What's Gaining Momentum

NeeDoh (3,350,000 searches, 45x YoY): The largest toy term in the database, now cooling from its spring peak at a far higher level.

Squishies (550,000 searches, 25x YoY): The broad category term, and the only big squishy search still rising over three months.

Glitter Dumpling (60,500 searches, 103x YoY): A viral variant that spiked and is now down -80% over three months.

Squeezy Squishy (33,100 searches, breakout): Up +1642% over six months, a sign that buyers are searching by feel rather than by brand.

Sensory Toy (27,100 searches, +22% YoY): The calmer, steadier side of the same demand, used by parents and educators.

Zip String (18,100 searches, +174% YoY): The handheld propeller-string toy, still growing at +22% over three months.

The squishy spillover even reaches fragrance. "Squishmallow perfume" is a breakout at 18,100 searches, up +22% over three months, which shows how far a plush brand can stretch once it owns a feeling.

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2. Pokemon and the Trading Card Game Boom

Trading card games are the second engine of toy search, and Pokemon is the whole first chapter. "Pokemon card" pulls 1,000,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, up +49% year over year and +22% over six months. It dipped -18% over the past three months, a normal pause between set releases rather than a turn.

Set-specific searches show how the release calendar drives demand. "Ascended heroes card list" is a breakout at 40,500 searches, the sort of term people type the week a new expansion's checklist leaks or lands. "Mega evolution etb", the elite trainer box for the Mega Evolution era, is up +124% to 22,200 searches. Both have cooled over three months as buyers moved from hunting lists to opening packs.

The retail story is the sharpest riser here. "Aldi pokemon" is up 46x year over year to 18,100 searches, and up 14x in the past three months alone. When a discount grocer becomes a Pokemon search, it means collectors are tracking restocks store by store.

Why Card Games Keep Growing

Trading card games are growing because:

• Release cadence: A steady stream of expansions gives buyers a new reason to search every few weeks
• Scarcity hunting: Limited boxes push collectors to track drops at unexpected retailers
• Adult collectors: Many buyers grew up with the cards and now have money to spend on them
• New entrants: Riot Games brought League of Legends into the format with Riftbound
• Celebrity moments: High-profile card purchases send waves of curious searches to the category

What's Gaining Momentum

Pokemon Card (1,000,000 searches, +49% YoY): The anchor of the whole collectibles side of this page.

Ascended Heroes Card List (40,500 searches, breakout): A set checklist search that appeared from nothing this year.

Mega Evolution ETB (22,200 searches, +124% YoY): Elite trainer boxes remain the default buy for players and gift buyers.

Aldi Pokemon (18,100 searches, 46x YoY): Restock hunting at grocery chains, up 14x in three months.

Riftbound Booster Box (12,100 searches, +175% YoY): Riot's card game, still growing at +49% over three months.

Logan Paul Pokémon Card (9,900 searches, +125% YoY): Celebrity card headlines drive spikes, down -91% over six months once the story passed.

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3. Sports Cards, Grading and the Card Market

Behind the packs sits a market, and its searches are among the steadiest on this page. "Sports cards" pulls 110,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, up +49% across one year, six months and three months alike. That even shape is rare in toys, where most curves spike and fade.

The infrastructure terms grow the same way. "Card vaulting", storing graded cards with a custodian so they can be traded without shipping, is up +50% at 22,200 searches. "Graded trading cards" is up +175% to 6,600 searches, and the marketplace terms "tcg marketplace" and "tcg market" are both up +50% at 6,600 searches each. The broad "trading cards" term holds at 74,000 searches with no annual change, which means the growth is happening in the specific, transactional searches rather than the generic one.

Customisation is the other quiet riser. "Custom trading cards" and "custom card deck" both grow just over +20% a year, as people print their own sets for games, weddings and team gifts.

Why the Card Market Is Growing

The business side of cards is rising because:

• Cards as assets: Grading turns a card into something with a price history
• Vaulting: Custodial storage lets a card change hands without ever leaving a safe
• Price lookups: Buyers check market prices before every purchase and sale
• Cross-over buyers: Pokemon collectors and sports collectors use the same grading and selling tools
• Personal printing: Custom decks bring the format to people who never bought a booster

What's Gaining Momentum

Sports Cards (110,000 searches, +49% YoY): Growing at the same rate over every window, the steadiest curve on this page.

Card Vaulting (22,200 searches, +50% YoY): Storage and trading without shipping, an idea moving from niche to normal.

Trading Card Market (9,900 searches, +22% YoY): Collectors researching prices and demand before they buy.

Graded Trading Cards (6,600 searches, +175% YoY): Up +247% over six months, though it fell back over the last three.

TCG Marketplace (6,600 searches, +50% YoY): The place people go to buy singles instead of packs.

Custom Trading Cards (5,400 searches, +23% YoY): Printed-to-order cards for games, events and gifts.

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4. LEGO's Licensed Breakouts

LEGO produces more breakouts on this page than any other brand, and nearly all of them come from licences and collaborations. "Lego pokemon" is up +309% to 74,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, and up +83% over the past three months as the partnership turned from rumour into product.

The standout single set is a dragon. "Lego rayquaza" and its mirror "rayquaza lego" both pull 60,500 searches, breakouts from nothing a year ago, and still up 14x over the past three months. Collaborations outside toys work too: "crocs lego" and "lego croc" are both at 40,500 searches, up 40x year over year, though both have dropped -55% over three months.

The fan-favourite licences show the same rise-and-settle shape. "Lego minas tirith" is up 14x in a year to 22,200 searches and down -89% over three months after an earlier spike. "Lego minifigures series 29" is up 14x to 18,100 searches. Display and vehicle builds are rising too, with "lego the kiss" a breakout at 12,100 searches, "lego artemis" up +125% to 9,900 searches and "lego hoonicorn" up 21x to 5,400 searches.

The strangest case is Dragon Ball. "Dragonball lego" is up +831% to 12,100 searches and up +404% over three months, and as our report on the Dragon Ball LEGO trend shows, that demand peaked months before LEGO confirmed the partnership.

Why LEGO Licences Break Out

Licensed sets dominate the breakouts because:

• Built-in fandoms: Pokemon, Lord of the Rings and Dragon Ball bring audiences that already search
• Reveal cycles: Leaks, announcements and launch days each produce their own spike
• Adult builders: Display sets for grown-up fans now sit alongside play sets for kids
• Surprise collaborations: Pairings like LEGO and Crocs travel well on social feeds
• Demand ahead of supply: Fans search for sets long before they can buy them

What's Gaining Momentum

LEGO Pokemon (74,000 searches, +309% YoY): The licence of the year, still rising over three months.

LEGO Rayquaza (60,500 searches, breakout): The single set name pulling the most searches, up 14x in three months.

Crocs LEGO (40,500 searches, 40x YoY): A footwear collaboration that became a toy search, now cooling.

LEGO Minas Tirith (22,200 searches, 14x YoY): A Lord of the Rings build whose spike has largely passed.

Dragonball LEGO (12,100 searches, +831% YoY): Fan demand that arrived before the product did.

LEGO The Kiss (12,100 searches, breakout): A set name that went from zero to five figures this year.

The steady base stays large. "Lego cars" holds at 74,000 searches and "millennium falcon lego" at 27,100, neither growing, which is why the licence breakouts matter so much to LEGO's search share.

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5. World Cup Collectibles and the New Bricks

The 2026 World Cup left a clear mark on toy search, and the shape is a textbook event spike. "World cup lego" is a breakout at 27,100 monthly searches as of August 2026, down -75% over three months now that the tournament is over. "Lego world cup trophy" is up 94x to 6,600 searches, and "world cup lego set" is a breakout at the same 6,600 searches.

Sticker albums followed the same arc. "World cup stickers" is up 87x year over year to 14,800 searches, after rising +2983% over six months and then falling -87% over three. Panini's albums are the old ritual of every tournament, and the search curve shows how fast that ritual starts and stops.

The longer-lasting story in this section is technology and competition inside the brick. "Smartbricks" and "smart brick" are both up 47x to 12,100 searches, still growing +124% over three months, as LEGO's sensor-equipped brick moves people from curiosity to purchase research. Mattel is pushing into the same aisle: "mattel brick shop supra", a car build from Mattel's brick line, is a breakout at 40,500 searches and up 17x over three months.

Why Event and Tech Bricks Matter

This cluster is worth watching because:

• Event timing: Tournament sets and stickers peak in a known window, then fall away
• Gift moments: Trophy builds and albums double as souvenirs for adults
• Smart play: A brick that reacts to play gives LEGO a reason for parents to look again
• New competition: Mattel's car sets give licence fans an alternative to LEGO Technic
• Car culture: Vehicle builds keep pulling in buyers who are not otherwise toy shoppers

What's Gaining Momentum

Mattel Brick Shop Supra (40,500 searches, breakout): The biggest non-LEGO building-set search on the page, up 17x in three months.

World Cup LEGO (27,100 searches, breakout): A tournament spike that is now fading fast.

World Cup Stickers (14,800 searches, 87x YoY): The classic album ritual, peaked and falling.

Smartbricks (12,100 searches, 47x YoY): Interest in connected bricks, still climbing over three months.

LEGO World Cup Trophy (6,600 searches, 94x YoY): A display build sold as much to fans as to kids.

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6. Comfort Toys, Custom Toys and Play for Everyone

The last group is quieter but growing. These are toys bought for comfort, made to order, or built to include more kids. "Weighted stuffed animals" pull 74,000 monthly searches as of August 2026, up +22% in a year and +83% over the past three months, the strongest recent move of any comfort toy on the page.

Personalisation is the steady theme. "Custom bobblehead" and "custom lego" are both up +22% at 12,100 searches each, and "3d printed toys" is up +22% at 14,800 searches, though it dipped -33% over three months. Dolls show two different paths: "fanciful doll" is up +49% at 14,800 searches across every window, while "autistic barbie" is up 11x to 6,600 searches, a launch spike that is down -87% over six months.

Games for older players round out the list. "Slay the spire board game", the tabletop version of the video game, is up +22% at 14,800 searches, and "smarty pants toy" is up 25x to 6,600 searches, still rising +650% over three months.

Why Comfort and Custom Toys Are Rising

This side of toy search is growing because:

• Calming products: Weighted plush and sensory toys are bought for sleep, anxiety and travel
• Made for one person: Bobbleheads and custom builds turn a toy into a personal gift
• Home manufacturing: 3D printers let hobbyists make figures and parts at home
• Representation: Dolls that reflect more kids draw attention at launch
• Grown-up games: Board game versions of video games bring adult players to the toy aisle

What's Gaining Momentum

Weighted Stuffed Animals (74,000 searches, +22% YoY): Comfort plush with the strongest three-month move in its group.

3D Printed Toys (14,800 searches, +22% YoY): Printed figures and fidgets from hobbyists and small shops.

Fanciful Doll (14,800 searches, +49% YoY): The same growth rate across one year, six months and three months.

Custom Bobblehead (12,100 searches, +22% YoY): A personal gift search that grows every year.

Slay the Spire Board Game (14,800 searches, +22% YoY): A video game turned tabletop game, holding its gains.

Smarty Pants Toy (6,600 searches, 25x YoY): A small term with the sharpest three-month climb in this section.

Two plush searches outside the table show where comfort meets fandom. "Ralsei plush" sits at 27,100 searches and is up +311% over three months, while "jellycat diner" holds at 22,200 searches after a year of decline.

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Summary

Toy search in 2026 is driven by three habits, and each has a different shape.

• Squeezing is the biggest habit by volume. Needoh, at 3,350,000 monthly searches, and the squishy family sit at the top, but the individual viral shapes are already cooling while the generic "squishies" term keeps rising.
• Collecting is the steadiest. Pokemon cards hold 1,000,000 searches, and the market around them, from sports cards to card vaulting, grows at the same rate over every window.
• Building runs on licences. LEGO's Pokemon, Lord of the Rings and Dragon Ball sets produce breakouts, and Mattel's brick line has joined the race.
• Events spike and fade. World Cup sets and stickers rose fast and are now falling, a reminder to time stock to the calendar.
• Comfort and custom toys are the quiet growers. Weighted plush, bobbleheads and 3D printed toys add a little every year, which makes them the most predictable demand on the page.