On the eve of the 120th edition of New York Toy Fair, British retailer The Entertainer has unboxed the top trends it believes will shape the UK toy industry in 2026. 

These predictions are based on The Entertainer’s first seven weeks of customer activity so far this year, including search results from its e-commerce site and storefront sales data. While it’s not a professional research firm or a toy trade organization, The Entertainer has been a tentpole toy retailer in the UK for 44 years, and it operates more than 160 physical locations, giving its predictions some degree of credibility. 

Across the pond, The Toy Association will share its own annual toy trends forecast at the Javits Center on the opening day of Toy Fair this weekend. Some hotspots the organization pointed out last year included a major lift in collectibles, the kidult market continuing to prosper from “newstalgic” products, toymakers adding personalization to their toy lines, and a prediction that licensed toys would continue to gain more market share. 

While we wait for that well-established forecast, here are the trends that The Entertainer has identified for 2026: 

K-pop domination: This music genre has broken into the kids entertainment zeitgeist, thanks to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, and The Entertainer expects the broader K-pop craze to be one of the top trends shaping the world of play this year. As to merch from the movie, Rumi costumes and accessories from Rubies were some of The Entertainer’s biggest sellers in January, and the toyco expects even bigger things from the IP as SKUs from co-master toy partners Mattel and Hasbro roll out throughout 2026. 

LEGO lifestyle: Britain’s top toyseller believes that LEGO will be a primary driver in the kidult market this year, as adult shoppers continue to blur the line between toys, home decor and mindful pastimes. A perfect example of this are the lifestyle-inspired LEGO Botanical sets, which The Entertainer says are one of its top sellers for Valentine’s Day, and which are also quickly picking up in demand for Mother’s Day. 

Don’t stop collecting: The Pokémon Trading Card Game is the pack leader of collectibles in the UK, thanks to its release of several booster expansions every year. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more players in the space. The Entertainer has earmarked Fuggler Gremlins and Zuru’s FIFA Ballers and 5 Surprise Mini Baby collections as some of its top performers in January, signaling that consumers are looking for affordable alternatives to expensive Elite Trainer Boxes. 

Lights, camera, action figures: While Bluey, Peppa Pig and Pokémon have established themselves as the top kids TV brands in toy aisles, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the busiest family film years in recent history. Some notable features premiering in 2026 with licensed toy ranges rolling out simulataneously include The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Jakks Pacific), Toy Story 5 (Mattel) and The Mandalorian & Grogu (Hasbro). According to Circana, licensed toys accounted for 38% of toy revenue in the UK last year. 

CEO’s remarks: “Looking forward, we expect hands-on play and immersive retail experiences to become more important and more closely bound, as customers…actively enjoy the in-person shopping experience associated with these products, as demonstrated in January by our in-store year-on-year sales growth of 15%, outstripping our online growth by five times,” says group CEO Andrew Murphy.