--- title: "Hamleys vs Toys R Us: Which is more popular in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is Hamleys or Toys R Us more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Toy shops set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/hamleys-vs-toys-r-us" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Hamleys vs Toys R Us: Which is more popular in the United Kingdom? Is Hamleys or Toys R Us more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Toy shops set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Hamleys and Toys R Us - **Competitive set**: Toy shops - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Hamleys Share of Search**: 8.4% - **Toys R Us Share of Search**: 2.1% ## Is Hamleys or Toys R Us more popular in search? - In September 2026, Hamleys had more branded searches than Toys R Us among toy shops in the United Kingdom. Hamleys had about 246,000 branded searches, while Toys R Us had 60,500. Hamleys made up 8.4% of all toy shop searches we track, and Toys R Us accounted for 2.1%. - Hamleys was ahead of Toys R Us in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Hamleys’ share of searches among toy shops in the United Kingdom moved from 11.9% to 8.4%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 368K to 246K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Toys R Us’ share of searches among toy shops in the United Kingdom moved from 2.4% to 2.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 74K to 60.5K. ## Top toy shops in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, Hamleys was mentioned in three out of four: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in the Google AI Overview. Toys R Us did not appear in any of the four answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Hamleys | 1st | 2 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | Smyths Toys | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 3 of 4 | | The Entertainer | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 | | Toys R Us | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | | Early Learning Centre | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 | ## Every AI answer about toy shops - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best toy shop in the UK?": 1. Hamleys, 2. Smyths Toys - Asked ChatGPT "Which UK toy shop chain has the best prices?": 1. The Entertainer, 2. Smyths Toys - Asked ChatGPT "What are the biggest toy shops in the UK?": 1. Hamleys, 2. Smyths Toys, 3. The Entertainer - Searched Google, AI Overview "toy shop": 1. Hamleys Not named in any answer: Toys R Us and Early Learning Centre. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 23, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom toy shops in September 2026? - In September 2026, The Entertainer overtook Hamleys to rank 2nd among toy shops in the United Kingdom, with 12.5% of the searches. - In September 2026, Hamleys lost share of searches among toy shops in the United Kingdom, from 14.3% to 8.4%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Toys R Us in the United Kingdom fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 74K to 60.5K in September 2026. ## How has branded search for Hamleys and Toys R Us changed in the United Kingdom over the last 12 months? | Month | Hamleys estimated searches | Hamleys Share of Search | Hamleys rank | Toys R Us estimated searches | Toys R Us Share of Search | Toys R Us rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 368K | 11.9% | 2 | 74K | 2.4% | 4 | | Nov 2025 | 368K | 7.1% | 3 | 90.5K | 1.8% | 4 | | Dec 2025 | 550K | 12% | 2 | 90.5K | 2% | 4 | | Jan 2026 | 246K | 14.1% | 2 | 60.5K | 3.5% | 4 | | Feb 2026 | 246K | 14.2% | 2 | 49.5K | 2.9% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 246K | 12.2% | 2 | 49.5K | 2.5% | 4 | | Apr 2026 | 301K | 14.6% | 2 | 49.5K | 2.4% | 4 | | May 2026 | 246K | 10.3% | 2 | 49.5K | 2.1% | 4 | | Jun 2026 | 246K | 10.3% | 2 | 40.5K | 1.7% | 4 | | Jul 2026 | 301K | 12.3% | 2 | 49.5K | 2% | 4 | | Aug 2026 | 368K | 14.3% | 2 | 49.5K | 1.9% | 4 | | Sep 2026 | 246K | 8.4% | 3 | 60.5K | 2.1% | 4 | ## How are Hamleys’ and Toys R Us’ branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Hamleys’ and Toys R Us’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Hamleys**: Measured on the search term “hamleys”. - **Toys R Us**: Measured on the search term “toys r us”. - [Hamleys profile](/demand/uk/brands/hamleys) - [Toys R Us profile](/demand/uk/brands/toys-r-us) - [All toy shops in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-toy-shops): The set both shares are measured inside, 5 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Hamleys or Toys R Us more popular in search? In September 2026, Hamleys had more branded searches than Toys R Us among toy shops in the United Kingdom. Hamleys had about 246,000 branded searches, while Toys R Us had 60,500. Hamleys made up 8.4% of all toy shop searches we track, and Toys R Us accounted for 2.1%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Hamleys vs Toys R Us: Which is more popular in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/hamleys-vs-toys-r-us This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/hamleys-vs-toys-r-us. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.