Target announced on Tuesday that it is preparing to launch a full assault on your holiday toy shopping and well beyond.
With Toys R’ Us no longer with us – although the plans for Geoffery’s Toy Box persist – retailers are stepping up to fill the toy buying gap. Walmart is expanding its toy area, and Party City is launching a test of popup Toy City stores to test the waters. Target is now following suit.
In a repaid expansion, Target is planning to increase the toy department in 500 of its stores by nearly a quarter-million square feet before Nov. 2. A further 100 stores are getting remodeled toy departments. You can also expect to find more than 2,500 new and exclusive toys on the shelves, more than double of 2017. This expansion will also extend to online with a new experience on the Target.com website.
“For many guests, finding the perfect toy to wrap up and give their little loved ones this holiday is going to be their top priority. We want them to know that Target is here to help,” said Mark Tritton, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Target. “Our team has spent months preparing for this season, selecting the assortment, deepening our inventory to offer more of the hottest items and reimagining the experience we have for toys in our stores and online. We’re excited to welcome more shoppers to Target this season and help them create memorable moments for years to come.”
One thing, in particular, we were happy to see called out was that the expanded floor space would see the inclusion of larger items such as electric ride-on vehicles, playhouses, outdoor playsets, and more. This was a category of products Toys R’ Us excelled at, and we at The Nerdy actually had multiple discussions about what would happen to these products in the wake of the shakeup in the industry. Kudos to Target for calling that out.
This is going to be an interesting holiday season for the toy industry, and we’re anxious to see how it shakes out.
