Target's Pokémon card changes are good news the 30th anniversary set

Pokémon fans venturing into Target stores recently may notice something different about how the retailer is stocking and selling trading cards. On the surface, these are logistical changes at Target that don't sound important — yet they might have a profound impact on the Pokémon TCG market as a whole.

Around the country, Pokémon fans are finding that the retailer has moved its TCG displays to the very back of the store, near the electronics department. These chromatic displays, which may be a nod to holofoil cards, are unlike anything else Target stocks. The bold coloring catches the eye from far away. There are areas for different TCG items, but the logo at the center of it all is Pokémon.

Here's what it looks like:

Image: UMU via Facebook

The full thing doesn't fit into a single picture, but you can get a better sense of its scale in this video.

The rollout is a slow one, so not all stores have upgraded yet. Some stores may elect to continue holding stock in Customer Service as a safety measure. Stores that do adopt this design are likely to see increased foot traffic throughout the premises. Before, one could pop into a Target and quickly look at the self-checkout area near the front to see if there was any TCG stock.

The wider displays accommodate much more stock than before. Maybe this sounds obvious, but the effect is that the retailer isn't necessarily cleaned out Pokémon cards within the first 30 minutes of a restock. In Minnesota, recent restocks have taken several hours to disappear. Products like the Elite Trainer Box still go quickly, but stores with these displays are putting out more of them. Single Pokémon packs for newer sets, like Chaos Rising and Pitch Black, may not sell out at all now. In effect, people with jobs and actual children now have a better chance of scoring cards at a reasonable price, even after Target's latest price hike.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company announced a deal to acquire Excell, a distributor that stocks cards at stores like Target. Given the sudden uptick in stock at Target, we may finally be seeing the effects of that deal. In July, a report claimed that the TCG category at Target had grown 70% within the last year, and now surpasses $1 billion in sales. That's 1% of Target's entire revenue. It may not sound like much, but executives at Target are keen on these products because they have huge margins.

These organizational changes may also impact the upcoming release of Pokémon's 30th anniversary set, whose popularity has raised concerns about its availability. The Pokémon Company's Excell deal announcement mentions that both companies are celebrating their 30th anniversary. Between Target's TCG expansion, The Pokémon Center's recent massive 30th anniversary drops, and leaks of people opening packs of the unreleased set months in advance, it seems like The Pokémon Company is doing its best to meet that heightened demand. The company is also constructing a new printing facility in the U.S., but it's not expected to open until 2028.

The efficacy of these efforts remains to be seen. It's currently easier to find Pokémon cards at Target, but the hobby typically undergoes a seasonal summer slump. Newer sets like Chaos Rising and Perfect Order are widely considered to be less desirable than sets like Ascended Heroes. The more recent Pitch Black set has enjoyed better critical reception, but the demand is still lower than sets like Destined Rivals or Prismatic Evolutions.

The surge in stock availability may be a combination of higher supply and lower demand — which may not be the case for 30th anniversary products. Products like the 30th anniversary Ultra Premium Collection are already seeing market prices up to $770, or several hundreds of dollars over MSRP.