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Dec 24, 2019

Toy stores get interactive with "experiential retail"

Mike Allen
A toy store
Children ride scooters on an elevated loop at Camp, a new chain of toy stores, in New York. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP.

A new generation of toy stores hopes to capitalize on the demise of Toys R Us by emphasizing playtime with "experiential retail," AP writes.

Where it stands: Toy stores long offered activities and interactive elements, like the floor piano at FAO Schwarz that Tom Hanks danced on in "Big."

  • When FAO Schwarz opened a store in New York in 2018, three years after shuttering its 5th Avenue flagship, it added a toy grocery store where kids can shop for artificial produce, complete with small carts, and a Barbie doll fashion parlor that charges $75 for a styling session.

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