Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Exclusive Barometer of Specialist Games & Toys Stores - Back to School 2026

Heatwave, football and low prices are shaking up sales

Between repeated heat waves, tourism, the Football World Cup and the Squishies phenomenon, July and August 2026 were busy… but contrasting for specialist stores.

Yoganoel and La Revue du Jouet give the floor to specialist stores to decipher the activity, sales and purchasing behaviors of summer 2026.

🎯 Objective?

Understanding the dynamics on the ground before the start of the academic year and the end of the year.

☀️ July – August 2026: An activity that perseveres despite the heat

The specialist stores in our sample experienced generally decent business, but this varied considerably from region to region. The heatwave impacted city centers, while tourism boosted some outlets.

Indicator

Commercial activity (July-August)

Store traffic

Kidults' request

Note

6.6/10

6.7/10

6.6/10

📊 Summer 2026 vs 2025: An overall positive trend

Activity compared to 2025

Up: 47.6%
Stable: 33.3%
Down: 19.1%

More than eight out of ten stores show stable or increasing activity compared to summer 2025.

👥 Foot traffic and average basket size: More cautious consumers

Store traffic: 6.6/10

The shops describe irregular foot traffic, heavily dependent on temperatures and the tourist situation of each area.

Evolution of average basket size:

Up: 9.5%
Stable: 47.6%
Down: 42.9%

The average basket size is stable or decreasing in more than nine out of ten stores. Purchases are increasingly focused on Squishies, Panini cards and small collectibles.

🌡️ Heatwave: A negative impact for more than one in two stores

More than 52% of stores consider its impact to be negative.

Main consequences: decreased daytime foot traffic, decline in outdoor activities and lack of comfort in stores.

⚠️ Daytime traffic down by 90.5%
Decline in outdoor activities: 42.8%
Lack of comfort: 33.3%

📦 Deliveries: A summer that was generally under control

The majority of stores did not experience any major difficulties during the summer.

However, some delays, damaged packages, late arrivals and stock shortages have been reported.

The main tensions concerned Squishies, certain board games and Pokémon, One Piece and Panini cards.

Trends visible online require rapid availability to convert interest into sales.

👉 Immediate availability becomes a decisive commercial advantage for trending products.

🎲 The best-performing categories

Board games top the sales charts with 57.1% of mentions.

The following are:

Water, pool and beach games
building games
Creative hobbies

Regarding trends:

LEGO
Pokémon
Squishies
Legami
Tonies
K-Pop Demon Hunters

👉 Historical categories remain strong, while small, accessible and collectible products accelerate commercial momentum.

🧑‍🦱 The kidult phenomenon remains firmly established

Demand level: 6.7 / 10

Demand is focused on:

building games
Creative hobbies
Trading cards
Kawaii and manga universe
Collectible figurines
Board games

👉 A sustainable demand, driven by the collection, the worlds of passion and the search for new things.

🎒 Back to school: A still untapped potential

Several stores have set up dedicated back-to-school areas, with a strong presence of Legami and school supplies.

Still under-exploited, the back-to-school season can generate traffic around creative hobbies, small gifts and trendy products.

💡 Buying criteria: Novelty and social media are the top priorities

What criteria influenced the purchases?

The new feature: 61.9%
Social media: 57.1%
The price: 47.6%
The license: 33.3%
Availability: 28.6%
Seller's recommendation: 19.0%
The discount: 14.3%
The child's list: 14.3%
TV advertising: 4.8%
The weather: 4.8%
Tourism: 4.8%

👉 Three key lessons:

➡️ Novelty attracts consumers
➡️ Social media accelerates trends
➡️ Price is increasingly determining the purchase decision

📢 The most effective communication levers

Social media in stores: 66.6%
Brand communication: 38.1%
Promotions: 28.6%
Shop windows: 23.8%
In-store promotions: 19.0%

👉 Local communication remains essential to promote new products, arrivals and to transform a trend into traffic.

☀️ Highlights of the period

Football World Cup: 66.7%
Extreme heat: 47.6%
Back-to-school preparation: 23.8%
Summer Sale: 19.0%

The World Cup boosted sales of balls, figurines, cards, and construction games. Tourism produced varying results depending on the region.

👉 The key events supported the activity, despite the negative effects of the heatwave on attendance.

🎄 Back to school and end of the year: A measured optimism

Cautiously, but without worry: 38.1%
With confidence: 19.0%

👉 A potentially promising product, despite strong price pressure.

🔎 Key points to remember

✔️ A resilient business, with 47.6% of stores showing growth
✔️ Average basket size down for 42.9% of respondents
✔️ A negative impact from the heatwave for more than one in two stores
✔️ Board games are at the top of the best-performing categories
✔️ Novelty, social media, and price guide purchases
✔️ Social media remains the primary tool for local communication
✔️ A promising end to the year, but under strong price pressure

Thank you to our partners Crayola and Speedy Monkey for their support of this edition of the Back to School Barometer 2026.

These two brands are distributed in France by TOOPIZ.

📘 Methodology

Survey conducted via an online questionnaire with 23 specialist stores:

JouéClub
King Jouet
The Big Recess
Sajou Toys

2/3 in the suburbs – 1/3 in the city center

The respondent base may vary depending on the questions.

Scale from 1 to 10

📬 Next appointment

👉 Exclusive Store Barometer – Christmas 2026, unveiled at the Deauville Preshow

Article written by Yoganoel