Sears is jumping into the holiday toy shopping race in the US with 79 new Toy Shops that will offer a hand-picked selection of toys and an interactive shopping experience.

Opening within existing Sears stores, the Toy Shops will be expanding into new markets and will be increasing their presence in the Chicago, L.A., New York and San Francisco markets, where the retailer opened 20 pilot Toy Shops last year.

The Sears Toy Shops feature popular toys and specialty items that help to build four core areas of childhood development – creativity, motor, social and cognitive skills. The shops carry an assortment of toy brands include Sears exclusive brands like My First Craftsman, My First Kenmore and Just Kidz.

A national survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Sears revealed that more than half of parents said they would like an outside resource for help with toy recommendations and play activities. To address these findings, Sears has added content and functionality to its website (www.sears.com/toyshop) that offers advice from an array of play experts.