After facing financial difficulties which put the future of its business in jeopardy, Toys R Us has announced plans to restructure its operations which involve closing many of its bricks and mortar outlets to focus its efforts on the web.

Internet Retailing reports that up to 26 of its UK locations may shut their doors in the near future, with customers instead encouraged to buy toys via safe shopping online in the run-up to Christmas this year.

The stores themselves will remain operational until early next year although, ultimately, it seems like Toys R Us could follow in the footsteps of Woolworths and Zavvi by migrating the majority of its sales to its e-commerce site.

Company spokesperson, Steve Knights, said that the shape of retail was changing significantly, with British consumers altering their habits and embracing safe shopping online at the expense of the high street. This has necessitated the change in tactics that the company is adopting.

He also explained that Toys R Us would not be completely removing its bricks and mortar presence, but would instead be operating a smaller number of outlets which offer a more focused, interactive experience for visitors.

One reason to keep stores open in certain areas is that click and collect has become very popular as a delivery option for people placing online orders. Knights recognises this and said that click and collect was one of the successes associated with running a retail website at the moment.

Before the end of the month, the plans outlined for restructuring Toys R Us will need to be approved by its creditors before they can be put into action. Whatever happens, thousands of redundancies are expected to be necessary for staff still working for the firm in the coming weeks.