Trading cards are poised to create Target’s next billion-dollar category

Despite Target’s overall sales slump, the big-box retailer has found a bright spot in a popular, fast-growing sector: trading cards.

Trading card sales at Target are up nearly 70% year to date and are on track to deliver $1 billion in sales this year, Target evp and chief commercial officer Rick Gomez told investors in the company’s second-quarter earnings call Aug. 20.

Gomez said these trading card games like Pokémon, combined with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 game console, drove growth within its hardlines categories last quarter. Second-quarter net sales in hardlines, which includes toys and electronics, grew about 6% from 2024 to 2025. “Trend-forward tech accessories like brightly colored headphones and phone cases and toys priced under $20” have also helped shape growth, Gomez said.

Overall, so far this year, strategic trading card game sales — which excludes sports trading cards — are up 101% from last year and represent about 10% of total toy sales in general, according to Juli Lennett, vp and toy industry adviser for Circana. Sports trading cards are up 48% year to date. Trading card sales on Walmart’s online marketplace soared 200% between February 2024 and June 2025, with Pokémon card sales growing over 10 times year over year, the retailer told Axios.

Trading cards are poised to create Target’s next billion-dollar category – Modern Retail

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