Debt factor at play in Toys’ demise

Maybe it really was the debt. When Toys ‘R’ Us filed for Chapter 11 reorganization this month, many gave equal weight for the chain’s woes to Amazon — saying the e-commerce giant stole away too many customers from the brick-and-mortar chain — and the bankrupt retailer’s debt load.

But a recent report on e-commerce showed only 16 percent of sales in the toys and hobby sector are made online — lower, perhaps, than many believed.

Which means it was mainly the debt that did in Toys ‘R’ Us.

The percentage of toys purchased online is about a third as potent as online sales in the electronics sector, according to the report from Goldman Sachs for its private clients. A copy of the report was reviewed by The Post.

The report, citing 2016 data from comScore, the Census Bureau, the US Labor Department and its own research, shows that books and magazines, with 32 percent of its sales coming online, was twice as affected by Amazon and other e-commerce sites than toys.

Roughly 15 percent of sales in the apparel and accessories sector came via the click and not the brick, while 11 percent of health and personal care sales came online, the report found — about the same as jewelry and watches.

Only 3 percent of grocery sales came from online, while furniture and home accounted for 7.3 percent, and sports and fitness, excluding apparel, notched 10.5 percent.