Toys “R” Us is preparing to open over a hundred U.S. stores as a growing market of adult collectors gives the toy aisle a different kind of customer: someone shopping for childhood favorites with a grown-up’s wallet.
Toys “R” Us announced September 17 that it plans to open 120 standalone U.S. stores for the holiday season, working with Austin-based Go! Retail Group. The rollout would increase its standalone footprint from 40 to 160 stores, alongside its shops inside Macy’s.
The comeback intersects with a shift in the meaning of play. Trading cards and building sets are becoming purchases for adult enjoyment, display and collecting, while research on nostalgia offers clues about why familiar objects can retain their appeal long after childhood.
How a Childhood Institution Lost Its Footing
The return follows a painful collapse. Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and liquidated its U.S. operations in 2018. WHP Global acquired a controlling interest in the brand in 2021.
It entered bankruptcy with approximately $5 billion in long-term debt, following a debt-financed 2005 buyout. Payments burdened the business as Amazon, Walmart and Target intensified competition.
Retail experts interviewed by Knowledge at Wharton also pointed to weak online execution, an uninspiring shopping experience and a failure to adapt.
Childhood affection could not compensate indefinitely for a business that was falling behind.
Who Is Buying the Toys Now?
Circana reported that U.S. toy sales for adults ages 18 and older reached $1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2025, up 12% from a year earlier. Adults were both the fastest-growing age group and the highest-spending group in that period.
Younger adults are part of the story, too. In Britain, Circana found 76% of Gen Z adults ages 18–28 bought toys for themselves or another adult in 2025.
The products extend well beyond dolls and stuffed animals. Circana identified Pokémon, One Piece, NFL and MLB trading cards among the drivers of early 2025 U.S. growth, alongside building sets popular with adults.
Its March 2025 survey found 19% of adults had bought Pokémon cards for themselves during the preceding six months. Only about one-quarter of those buyers actually played the game. Collecting, displaying and reselling also motivated purchases.
Across the 12 countries Circana tracks, collectible sales climbed 32% in 2025. Pokémon led the overall toy-property rankings, followed by Hot Wheels, Marvel Universe, Barbie and Star Wars.
Why Childhood Still Has a Hold on Us
A familiar toy can carry associations that reach far beyond its shelf price: a person, a place, a birthday or an afternoon when play required no justification.
A study published in the journal Emotion, involving six experiments, found that nostalgia strengthened people’s sense of connection between their past and present by increasing feelings of belonging and acceptance. That continuity, in turn, supported feelings of vitality.
The findings suggest nostalgia can help people feel anchored in who they are. They do not establish that buying collectibles produces those benefits, or that every collector is seeking emotional refuge.
One possible explanation for the appeal, then, is that a childhood interest provides continuity through adult life’s changes. The object may be small; the memories attached to it need not be.
A Break From the Endless Scroll
The desire for something tangible also fits a broader discussion about digital overload.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, excessive scrolling can crowd out reading, hobbies and meaningful conversation.
A 2025 randomized study published in PNAS Nexus found that blocking mobile internet on participants’ smartphones for two weeks improved objectively measured sustained attention, mental health and subjective well-being. Calls, texts and internet access on other devices remained available.
That supports a careful conclusion: Relief from constant connectivity can help attention.
A building set or card game offers a different way to spend an evening: assembling, deciding, handling objects or sharing a table with someone.
A Familiar Brand With a Broader Invitation
Toys “R” Us is explicitly courting collectors and fans of all ages. Its announced assortment includes LEGO, Barbie, Hot Wheels and Pokémon, while select stores will add cafés, candy shops and Creator Studios for influencers and product launches.
The broader invitation changes the role of the adult in the store. Parents and grandparents remain gift buyers, but collectors are customers in their own right, with interests that can bring them back beyond birthdays and Christmas.
For Toys “R” Us, the child who once wanted everything in the store may now be the adult who wants one familiar thing.
