The Toys R Us Store Reboot Didn't Work. Here's What Could

Single-category retailers are going to have a tough time in today's market

The two remaining U.S. locations of one-time toy giant Toys R Us, which reopened in 2019 with big plans for experiential retail, are closing again.

The Associated Press attributed the demise of the stores in Houston and Paramus, N.J. to “weak customer traffic amid the pandemic.” We turned to our own analysts to look at what happened, and how Toys R Us could proceed from here. (Parent company Tru Kids did not respond to a request for comment from Adweek.)

Tough times for single-category retail

While analysts concede the timing of the relaunch was unfortunate, they were not shocked by the news.

Zach Weinberg, vp of ecommerce at performance marketing network Reprise Digital, noted the pandemic left parents scrambling to figure out ways to keep their kids occupied, which means they’ve “explored all sorts of different areas of buying,” including the usual suspects: Amazon, Walmart and Target.

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