You’re bound to get tons of shopping catalogs this holiday season, and soon, one of them may come from Amazon. Following the demise of Toys R Us’ presence in the US and UK back in March, the e-commerce giant confirmed it will mail out millions of toy catalogs called “A Holiday of Play.”
Like the old catalogs Toys R Us used to mail out, Amazon’s holiday catalogs retain the simplistic aesthetic, but they also have QR codes attached so customers can easily scan and bring up links to products. Amazon will also distribute the catalogs at its 4-star locations and bookstores.
Even as the tech giant edges out traditional retailers like Walmart and Barnes & Noble, it’s still taking pages from their playbooks. Following its acquisition of Whole Foods last year, Amazon cemented its brick-and-mortar presence by opening up bookstores and cashier-less convenience stores across the US.
As we gear up for the holiday season, Amazon is also attempting to boost sales by offering free shipping without the $25 minimum purchase and experimenting with more convenient shipping options. But for many kids (and kids at heart) who grew up with giant toy stores, there will be a sad reminder in your mailbox that Toys R Us is dead, and Amazon is the imminent replacement for stores you looked to in the past.
Comments
This still won’t help with actually looking at real toys to pick for the holiday season. How would I know when picking out something for my Niece that it is actually as cool or cute in real life as it is in a photo. I want to see the real thing and this isn’t going to help. Walmart’s selection sucks compared to Toys R Us
By Lovin-NY on 11.07.18 11:03am
Go on YouTube and watch one of the probably dozens of videos of people opening the toy you’re looking at and talking about it.
By yeckolo on 11.08.18 9:08am
And spend hours on end looking at videos of toys after I already spent hours looking online to pick some? NO THANKS!
By Lovin-NY on 11.08.18 9:33am
Got one of the new Amazon toy catalogs in the mail over the weekend. My kids were pretty excited. I was amused because I’m old enough to remember leafing through the Sears toy catalog that used to come at Christmas time and dreaming of what I might get. All of this has happened before and it will all happen again.
By IShouldBeWorking on 11.07.18 11:10am
I got a Toys’R’Us catalogue in the weekly flyer bundle last week here in Canada. It’s very weak compared to what you would have called a catalogue 20 years ago, but it survives.
By lunarworks on 11.07.18 11:50am