Toy Shopping in Canada Is Evolving. Discovery Is Where the Battle Is Now | FEATURED EDITION

First, a sincere thank you to Mark Smith and the Caddle team for sharing this national Toy Shopping study conducted in February 2026 with approximately 8,600 Canadians.

Mark Smith captured the shift clearly:

“Toy shopping today is fluid, not digital-first or store-first, but shopper-first.

Nearly half of buyers move across channels, three in four rely on reviews, and more than half are already using or open to AI guidance. Discovery is evolving faster than many retailers think.

While giants dominate through scale, price, and inventory strength, opportunity remains. Specialty retailers can earn share by focusing on year-round discovery, birthdays, hobbies, and everyday play, not just Holiday.

Build trust between peak seasons, think true omnichannel, and use tools like AI to guide shoppers with confidence.”

That quote frames what the data is telling us.

Let’s look at the numbers.

The Data: What Is Actually Happening

63% of Canadians actively shop for toys.

Of those buyers:

Toy shopping is not digital-first. It is not store-first. It is fluid.

On retailer consideration:

Reviews matter deeply. 75% say reviews influence their toy purchase decisions.

And here is where it gets interesting.

26.8% of toy shoppers have already used AI tools to help choose toys. Another 30% say they would consider it.

That means 56.8% of shoppers are either already using or open to AI guidance.

Now let’s layer in perspective.

For years I have talked about the 3 C’s: Content, Community, Commerce.

This study does not just support that framework. It reinforces it.

If 75% of shoppers are influenced by reviews, then content is not optional.

Reviews are content. Product descriptions are content. Images, comparison charts, and safety details are content.

And if AI tools are now helping shoppers choose toys, then structured, accurate, detailed content becomes even more critical.

AI pulls from content. Search pulls from content. Discovery begins with content.

If your digital shelf is weak, discovery weakens. If your product pages lack clarity, you lose influence before price is even compared.

Toys are emotional purchases. They involve gifting, safety, durability, and trust.

That 75% review influence statistic is not just about star ratings. It is about reassurance.

Community today lives in:

Community reduces hesitation.

And when community is strong, conversion friction drops.

Retailers who build trust beyond the transaction create something mass merchants struggle to replicate. They create connection.

Walmart at 59.6% and Amazon at 50.5% consideration tell us that commerce is consolidating.

Scale wins default behavior.

But here is the important point.

If Content and Community are weak, Commerce becomes promotional.

You discount. You chase traffic. You compete on price.

If Content and Community are strong, Commerce becomes durable.

Strong content improves discoverability and conversion. Strong community builds repeat behavior and trust. Strong reviews reduce doubt.

Now Commerce is not dependent on flyer cadence alone.

In a category where 45% of shoppers move between online and in-store, execution must be seamless. Pricing alignment, inventory accuracy, and consistent messaging are essential.

But seamless execution is the floor, not the ceiling.

Promotion should amplify momentum. It should not be the only engine driving sales.

Retailers who align Content, Community, and Commerce build lift. Retailers who rely only on promotion fight gravity.

I have spoken often about what I call the AI Moment of Discovery.

It is the point where influence shifts earlier in the journey. Where shoppers ask a tool for guidance before they ever engage a brand directly.

This study shows that moment is already happening.

More than a quarter of toy shoppers have used AI to guide their purchase decisions. Another 30% are open to it.

That changes discovery.

If AI narrows options before a shopper lands on your site or walks your aisle, then:

Discovery is becoming algorithm-assisted.

Authority is shifting upstream.

Retailers and brands who understand this will shape consideration earlier. Those who ignore it may never make the shortlist.

The generational breakdown strengthens this view.

Gen Z

Millennials

Gen X and Boomers trail in AI adoption but still show strong review influence.

Younger shoppers are digital, review-driven, and increasingly AI-assisted.

One strategy will not win across every cohort.

Discovery, trust, and content must align to the audience.

Walmart anchors toy consideration at 59.6%. Amazon follows closely at 50.5%.

Scale matters. Default behavior matters. The giants have gravitational pull.

But here is where it gets interesting.

45% of shoppers move across online and in-store channels. 75% rely on reviews when making toy purchase decisions. And 56.8% are either already using or open to AI tools to guide their choices.

The giants own scale.

Discovery is still up for grabs.

If influence is shifting earlier through reviews, content, and AI-assisted recommendations, then the retailers and brands who invest in Content, build Community, and execute Commerce seamlessly will shape the shortlist before price is even compared.

The toy aisle has not disappeared.

But the first aisle may now be digital. It may be social. It may be conversational. It may be algorithmic.

That is where the next share shift will happen.

The question is simple.

Are you showing up where discovery now begins?

Source: Caddle Toy Shopping Consumer Insights Study, February 2026. Nationally representative survey of approximately 8,600 Canadian respondents. Retail Round‑Up: U.S. and Canada Highlights (Feb 24 – Mar 2 2026)

March brings a flurry of news from North American retailers. This week’s round‑up focuses on investments, innovations and financial results from leading retailers in Canada and the United States. Each story includes context on why it matters for the industry.

Canada’s largest grocery and pharmacy operator, Loblaw Companies, unveiled a major capital plan for 2026. The company will spend about C$2.4 billion to open 70 new stores, renovate 191 existing locations and continue building its automated distribution centre in Caledon, Ontario. The five‑year plan calls for roughly C$10 billion in total investment by 2030. Loblaw expects the 2026 outlay to create around 9,700 jobs across retail and construction.

U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy delivered a holiday‑quarter profit beat yet struck a cautious tone for 2026. In the fourth quarter, comparable sales fell 0.8%, but cost discipline helped the company report adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Looking ahead, Best Buy forecasts comparable sales between down 1% and up 1% and expects adjusted earnings per share of $6.30 to $6.60, both under consensus estimates. The retailer noted that macroeconomic uncertainty is prompting consumers to delay big‑ticket purchases and that tariff relief from a recent Supreme Court ruling has yet to translate into lower costs.

In an effort to help retailers reimagine brick‑and‑mortar, Samsung Canada opened an immersive showroom at its Mississauga headquarters. The space lets grocers, big‑box chains and boutique operators experiment with connected displays and data‑driven tools. Among the innovations are “Samsung Spatial,” an 85‑inch glasses‑free 3D display for product visualization, and e‑paper price tags that can run for months on a single battery. James Arndt, who leads Samsung’s enterprise business in Canada, said the goal is to turn stores into strategic hubs for engagement rather than just transaction points.

Jewellery chain Michael Hill International reported a significant earnings recovery for the first half of fiscal 2026. Statutory net profit after tax rose 32% to AUD $22.3 million, while earnings before interest and taxes grew 28.6% to AUD $31.0 million. The turnaround was largely driven by the company’s Canadian operations: revenue there increased 6.2% to CAD $96.3 million, same‑store sales climbed 6.1%, and gross margins expanded 70 basis points to 61.5%. Michael Hill cited improvements in product curation, inventory discipline and operating efficiencies as key contributors.

U.S. beverage maker Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) announced a bullish outlook for 2026, powered by its pending acquisition of Dutch coffee and tea giant JDE Peet’s. The company plans to fund the roughly $18 billion deal through a mix of debt and equity, expecting the transaction to add about $8.5 billion to $8.7 billion in sales starting in the second quarter. KDP projects full‑year net sales of $25.9 billion to $26.4 billion and low‑double‑digit adjusted profit growth, far above analyst forecasts. Fourth‑quarter results already showed momentum: domestic refreshment beverages sales jumped 11.5%, and coffee sales rose 3.9%, beating expectations.

Bottom line: In the past week, North American retail news was dominated by investment commitments, technological innovation, and strategic deals. Loblaw’s multibillion-dollar expansion signals confidence in Canada’s grocery sector, while Samsung’s Mississauga showroom points to a future where physical stores incorporate high-tech experiences. In the United States, Best Buy and Keurig Dr Pepper offered very different outlooks, caution versus optimism, highlighting varying consumer appetites across categories. Finally, Michael Hill’s profit rebound shows that targeted strategies in Canada can fuel a turnaround even when global conditions remain challenging.

Toy shopping has not become digital-first or store-first. It has become shopper-first.

That shift changes where the battle is won.

Discovery is no longer confined to the toy aisle or the holiday flyer. It is happening earlier, across reviews, search results, social conversations, and increasingly through AI-guided recommendations. By the time a shopper reaches a store or product page, many of their decisions are already forming.

For retailers and brands, the implication is clear. Winning the moment of discovery now matters as much as winning the moment of purchase.

Those who invest in strong content, build trusted communities, and execute commerce seamlessly across channels will influence that decision earlier. Those who rely only on promotion will continue fighting for attention later in the journey.

The toy aisle still matters.

But the first aisle may now be the algorithm.

And the retailers who understand that shift will be the ones shaping the shortlist before the shopper ever reaches the shelf.