Squishy toy trend
Squishy toy is still accelerating: overall interest is up +300% in a year and +17% in the last three months. Next Big's projection: likely to level off over the next 12 months.
- Data qualityHow well its sources carry the Pulse's line over the last 13 weeks. Medium data quality: sources from more than one company carry the line lately, not all of them steady. Every label
- Medium
- StageExploding: interest at least doubled over about two years and still sits at 70% or more of its peak. Every label
- Exploding
- VerdictThe Pulse's verdict on Hunger and Heat. Hunger is how many people search for it; Heat is how much people post and see about it. Steady: hunger level and Heat not up: searches holding level. Every label
- Steady
Three things to know
- Squishy toy is exploding on the Next Big Pulse, +300% in a year, about 176K searches a month in the US.
- Hunger + Heat: steady, searches holding level.
- Near its peak: at 100% of its two-year peak; searches at this point were higher a year later 76% of the time, against 73% for any search.
What is squishy toy?
Squishy toy refers to soft, slow-rising foam or gel-filled toys that people squeeze for fun and stress relief, from foam food and animal shapes to NeeDoh balls and sensory fidgets. People search it to buy them as gifts, party favours and fidgets for children, including kids with ADHD or autism, and adults use them for anxiety. In practice, buyers are parents, teachers and collectors, and sales are driven by TikTok and Amazon. It is a cheap, impulse and gift product category with repeated waves of new shapes and characters.
- Made by Five Below
- Official site fivebelow.com
Behind the rise
Rising around it: the related search reading council squishy toy safety (Breakout).
Where the line turned
- 1Turned up Mar 2026. YouTube search moved first.
- 2Turned down Jul 2026. Web mentions moved first, 8 weeks before the next source.
- 3Turned up Aug 2026. YouTube search moved first.
Things that happened around the rise, never a claim of what caused it.
Latest news about squishy toy
The newest coverage we read for it, +5,000% on a month ago.
- Searches a month
- 176K
- The Pulse now, US, between 127K and 245K
- Rise so far
- Near its peak
- At 100% of its 2-year peak, climbing 3 weeks. Searches here were higher a year on 76% of the time (any search 73%)
- Shelf life
- 9 to 63 weeks
- How long past rises like this one lasted: median 23 weeks, from 3,914 rises. History, not a forecast
- Overall interest, a year
- +300%
- from 51K to 176K searches a month (rough)
- Last 3 months
- +17%
- from 151K to 176K searches a month (rough); within its own noise, so flat
- Next 12 months
- Levelling off
- Next Big's projection, +1%
- Stage
- Exploding
- growing faster each month
- Trend score
- 52/100
- Worth building on, from eight parts: how it's made is below the numbers
- Peaks
- All year
- no seasonal peak
- A click is worth
- $0.44
- what advertisers pay
- Ranking difficulty
- 2/100
- room for a new page
Searches a month added are rough: right direction about 3 times in 4, size within ×2 (check 14a). What that means.
How the trend score is made
| Part | Reading | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth over a year | 67/100 | 25% | 16.8 |
| The last weeks | 50/100 | 15% | 7.5 |
| Fits a business (judged in review) | 70/100 | 15% | 10.5 |
| Interest now | 89/100 | 10% | 8.9 |
| Kept rising | 0/100 | 10% | 0.0 |
| What a click is worth | 9/100 | 10% | 0.9 |
| Posts about it | 81/100 | 10% | 8.1 |
| Searches a month | 100/100 | 5% | 5.0 |
| Before adjustments | 100% | 57.6 | |
| Adjustment | ×0.9: a noisy line | ||
| Trend score | 52/100 | ||
How worth building on a search is, not how big it is. Every weight is on the methodology.
What's next for squishy toy
- Direction
- Accelerating; level over the last 3 months (+17%, within its own noise).
- Next 12 months
- Next Big's projection: likely to level off (+1%).
- What it opens
- Themed squishy toy bundles and mystery boxes, sensory kits for classrooms, and unboxing and comparison content on new textures.
- Its market
- Squishy toys: its searches are up a median +15,143% on a year ago, opportunity 78/100.
The next wave inside it
Searches rising fastest alongside squishy toy. Breakout means more than five thousand percent.
- reading council squishy toy safetyBreakout
- squishy dumpling toy safety warningBreakout
- rms dumpling squishyBreakout
- needlesBreakout
- squishy dumpling toy safety recallBreakout
- jet puffed squishy toyBreakout
- squishy toy water bead recallBreakout
- oft squishy toy safety warningBreakout
Is squishy toy really trending?
Steady: searches holding level. Of the searches read this way over the last two years, 66% were searched more half a year later, against 63% of all searches (1,403 cases).
- Hungerwhat people go looking forlevel over 3 monthsFrom Google web search, YouTube search, Google Shopping, Bing searches, web popularity
- Heatwhat the crowd is shown, unaskedlevel over 3 monthsFrom web mentions, Bluesky posts a week
Real when people are shown it and go looking for it; Early when the crowd is shown it first; Hype when it's shown and not sought; Quiet demand when searches rise with little talk. How the two sides are read.
How popular is squishy toy, and is it still growing?
Squishy toy draws about 176K searches a month in the US, on the Next Big Pulse. Still growing: overall interest in squishy toy is up +300% in a year, and roughly level over the last 3 months (+17%). The line blends every source we read for it, each listed below with its own figures, and the Next Big Pulse confirms the rise.
- +17%in 3 months, within its own noise, so flatJul 2026 to this week
Each figure compares overall interest at the end of the window with its start.
Who searches for it, and why
Most people search it to buy or sign up.
What people ask about squishy toy
Questions
- how to clean squishy toys
- how to make squishy toys
- how to store squishy toys
- how to find squishy toys
- how to get squishy toys
- how to buy squishy toys in bulk
Best
- best squishy toys
- best squishy toys for kids
- best squishy toys for adults
- best squishy toys on amazon
- best squishy toys big
- best squishy toy brands
Near me
- squishy toy near me
- squishy toy near me in stock
- squishy toy near me walmart
- squishy toys near me in store
- squishy toys near me within 5 mi
- squishy toys near me open now
For whom
- squishy toy for kids
- squishy toy for anxiety
- squishy toy for dogs
- squishy toy for girls
- squishy toy for boys
- squishy toy for adults
Also searched
- squishy toy apple
- squishy toy costume
- squishy toy costco
- squishy toys ingredients
- squishy toys
- squishy toy sound effect
Brands and companies behind it
Who squishy toy names, makes it or builds it, from Wikidata, SEC EDGAR and GitHub. Each name says where it comes from.
Sources
The chart is the Next Big Pulse: every source with a weekly or monthly reading for squishy toy, blended into one line of overall interest. A trend counts only when independent sources confirm the rise, each read against what every other search we track did there.
- YouTube search32%since Oct 2025
- Bing searches29%since Oct 2025
- Google web search18%since Oct 2025
- Web popularity9%since Oct 2025
- Web mentions9%since Oct 2025
- Google Shopping3%since Oct 2025
Data quality: medium, sources from more than one company carry the line lately, not all of them steady. The last 2 weeks rest on fewer sources: they aren't in web mentions yet. How the grade works
| Source | Rose with it | This search, in a year | The typical search there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bing searches | Rose | More than for the typical search there. Named, not quoted: its licence. | |
| Wikipedia views | No rise above typical | ||
| Bluesky posts | No rise above typical | ||
| Hacker News mentions | No rise above typical | ||
| Research papers | No rise above typical | ||
| New York Times articles | No rise above typical | ||
Searches a month is the Pulse's reading now, in Google Ads' scale for the US; cost per click and ranking difficulty are Google Ads keyword estimates.
The same search on Google Trends · How we read every source
Projections are Next Big's forecasts from public search data. They aren't financial, investment, trading or medical advice.
Questions
Is squishy toy still popular in 2026?
Yes. Overall interest in squishy toy is up +300% on a year ago, and roughly level over the last three months (+17%).
How many people search for squishy toy?
About 176,000 searches a month in the US, on the Next Big Pulse.
When do searches for squishy toy peak?
It doesn't follow a season. Its busiest week in five years was in June 2026.
Will squishy toy keep growing?
Next Big's projection says it's likely to level off over the next 12 months (+1%). It's a forecast from public search data, not advice.
What's rising alongside squishy toy?
The searches rising fastest with it are reading council squishy toy safety, squishy dumpling toy safety warning and rms dumpling squishy: often the next wave inside a trend.
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