Holiday Shopping 2026 · August 2026 to January 2027

The Toys shelf

What ChatGPT and Google AI Mode recommend when a AU shopper asks them about toys — ranked by how often each brand made the shelf.

Stories

AI Shopping Shelf Insights

In Australia, “toys” means the backyard

🇦🇺 Toys · AU · August 2026

In Australia, “toys” means the backyard

Trampolines, cricket sets, outdoor play. The Aussie toy shelf spills into the yard, and it is the one market LEGO does not run away with.

The Backyard Grandparent

Springfree Trampoline 13.0% Vuly 12.7% LEGO 9.3%

The Backyard Montessori Parent

Step2 16.6% Connetix Tiles 13.2% Magna-Tiles 7.2%

See the full story →

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Shopper Journeys

How the toys shelf shifts as a shopper moves from “what's out there” to “which one do I buy”, for everyone or for one shopper.

Awareness
Step2 52%
Little Tikes 12%
Micro 4%
Anko 3%
Bluey 3%
Research
Micro 28%
Globber 14%
Connetix Tiles 12%
Magna-Tiles 9%
Mini Micro 5%
Comparison
Connetix Tiles 29%
Step2 29%
Magna-Tiles 10%
Little Tikes 9%
Bluey 3%
Validation
Magna-Tiles 17%
Connetix Tiles 15%
Splash About 7%
Wahu 6%
Somersault 5%
Purchase
Magna-Tiles 17%
Connetix Tiles 16%
Bluey 9%
Playmobil 7%
JOYIN 5%

The Backyard Montessori Parent's shelf. Each stage's bar is shelf-share within that stage.

Brand
Shelf-share
Shelf Share Trend
Visibility
1
17.1%
44.7%
2
5.3%
13.8%
3
4.6%
18.2%
4
4.3%
8.8%
5
3.5%
8.8%
6
3.2%
10.1%
7
2.8%
7.5%
8
2.7%
13.2%
9
2.5%
11.3%
10
1.4%
2.5%
11
1.3%
5.7%
12
1.3%
4.4%
13
1.2%
9.4%
14
1.2%
1.9%
15
1.1%
3.1%
16
1.0%
9.4%
17
1.0%
8.2%
18
0.8%
9.4%
19
0.8%
4.4%
20
0.8%
3.8%
21
0.8%
3.8%
22
0.8%
1.3%
23
0.7%
5.0%
24
0.7%
3.8%
25
0.7%
2.5%
No brand named
7.5%

Shelf-share = the share of shopper attention a brand holds. Visibility = the share of answers that named it at all.

How to read this table

Shelf-share weights every mention by where the brand sits in the answer, so the shelf adds up to 100%. Named first on a short shelf is worth far more than named fourth on a long one.

Visibility ignores position — simply how often a brand is named. Divide shelf-share by visibility and you get how much of the shelf a brand takes when it does appear.

No brand named is the share of answers that recommended no identifiable brand at all — advice, or retailers only.

Products the engines name

The specific SKUs surfaced inside toys answers.

Rank
Product
Shelf-share
Shelf Share Trend
Visibility
Price
1
DUPLO
LEGO
1.9%
3.8%
—
2
Mini Deluxe Scooter
Micro
1.5%
3.1%
—
3
Tiles
Connetix Tiles
1.4%
4.4%
—
4
Rain Showers Splash Pond Water Table
Step2
1.2%
2.8%
—
5
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 (75456)
LEGO
1.0%
2.2%
—
6
Wingspan
Wingspan
0.9%
2.5%
—
7
Clear Colours 100 Piece Set
Magna-Tiles
0.8%
4.4%
—
8
Summer Showers Splash Tower Water Table
Step2
0.7%
2.2%
—
9
Rain Showers Splash Pond
Step2
0.7%
1.6%
A$197.10
10
Thunder 2
Vuly
0.7%
1.6%
—
11
Advent Calendars 2026
LEGO
0.7%
0.9%
—
12
Archway Falls Water Table
Step2
0.6%
1.6%
—
13
Rainbow Starter Pack
Connetix Tiles
0.6%
0.9%
A$119.00
14
Pocket Edition
Hive
0.6%
0.6%
—
15
Bluey Beach Water Table
Little Tikes
0.5%
2.2%
A$99.00
16
7 Wonders Duel
7 Wonders Duel
0.5%
1.9%
—
17
Blind Boxes
Miniso
0.5%
0.6%
—
18
Azul
Azul
0.4%
2.2%
—
19
LeapMove
LeapFrog
0.4%
0.9%
—
20
Scruff-a-Luvs Series 1 Single Pack
Moose Toys
0.4%
0.6%
—
How to read this table

Price is a band, not one number: the cheapest price on the market, the brand’s own price in bold, and the dearest — sorted low to high. Where only one figure is known, only one is shown. A dash means no price we could verify, not a free product.

How we measure

We ask the assistants the same real shopper questions each run, and record every brand each one recommends.

What that means in practice

Each run we ask ChatGPT and Google AI Mode the same set of questions, one persona and market at a time.

Shelf-share is the share of answers in a category that named a brand. The questions never name a brand, so a brand is on the shelf because the engine chose it.

We settle on the questions before each run, never after. A brand on the shelf is the assistant’s pick, not one we went looking for.

Read the full method — the shoppers, their journey, and the season →

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