Big Retail News
According to the Chicago Tribune (if you can trust one of those old fashioned newspaper companies), a recent survey indicated that Target was the top choice for shoppers this holiday season.
If this is accurate this is a gigantic blow to Wal-Mart, who has held the top toy sales position for the last several years. Frankly I would love to see this kind of a change, because Target has always had a better selection of toys than any Wal-Mart I’ve ever been to. Target also gets all the great Star Wars exclusives. I can’t count the number of vehicles that I’ve gotten from them. Some of the best ones have been the 12″ scale Scout Trooper with Speeder Bike, the Y-Wing, and the B-Wing. How does Wal-Mart compete with that? With empty peg hooks and the very rare vehicle assortment.
What really caught my eye was this:
Shoppers cited inconvenient location and price as the top reasons for leaving a toy retailer, the survey said. Long checkout lines were a close third.
These are fairly common consumer complaints and they pretty much match why Toys R Us has been losing customers. The most cashiers I’ve ever seen working at a Toys R Us location at one time was about three. Their prices are also higher, because they don’t have the 800 pound gorrilla fisted buying power of Wal-Mart. The only time Wal-Mart has ever been any use to me was when I worked there and I… ah hem… had first pick for new figures that came in. Hey, don’t hate me you’d do the same if you were in my shoes!
As always, I’m interested in hearing what you think. Where do you buy most of your toys? Which toy store do you think of going to first and why?
Toys, toy collecting, survey, Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us
Leave a Reply