Toys R Us to Open 120 Standalone U.S. Stores for the 2026 Holiday Season

# What's happening

Toys R Us announced plans to open 120 standalone stores across the U.S. in time for the 2026 holiday season. The rollout comes through a partnership with Go! Retail Group and follows the brand's existing footprint of 40 standalone stores plus Toys R Us shops inside Macy's stores nationwide.

# Why it matters

This expansion increases the brand's physical presence quickly during the busiest retail season of the year. The strategy mixes conventional retail with experiential elements intended to make stores places for discovery and extended visits rather than only quick transactions.

# What the new stores will offer

Select locations will include Creator Studios — dedicated spaces for influencers, creators and toy brands to create content, host reveals and run special events. Other stores will feature candy shops and cafés to encourage browsing and dwell time. The company also cited travel-retail locations such as airports and Navy Exchanges as part of its broader retail mix.

# Executive framing

# How this fits with current store footprint

Before this expansion, Toys R Us operated 40 standalone U.S. stores and maintained shop-in-shop locations within Macy's stores. The addition of 120 stores would bring the total number of standalone locations to 160 by the holiday season, according to the company's announcement.

# Retail strategy signals

The plan leans into several retail plays that retailers use to drive traffic and sales:

• Rapid, seasonal growth to capture holiday demand.
• Partnered rollouts using a third party (Go! Retail Group) to scale faster.
• In-store experiences (creator spaces, cafés, candy shops) to increase time in store and social content opportunities.
• Mixed-format presence (standalone, department-store shop-in-shops, travel-retail) to reach different customer segments.

# Immediate implications for shoppers and communities

Shoppers will have more physical Toys R Us locations to visit during the holiday season, with select stores offering content creation spaces and food and treat options. Communities that gain a Toys R Us standalone store will get a retail venue positioned around toys, events and discovery.

# What to expect next

# Bottom line

Toys R Us is making an aggressive brick-and-mortar push for the 2026 holidays, adding 120 standalone U.S. stores via a partnership with Go! Retail Group while continuing its Macy's shop-in-shop presence. The move emphasizes experiential retail elements designed to create reasons for customers to visit, stay and engage in person.