316: Can Toys R Us Survive?

Adam and Jeannie discuss the looming demise of Toys R Us and how a focus on customer experience innovation could make all the difference.

Toys R Us succumbs to innovative retail experiences

Whether you were a child, glaring in wonder at the aisles and aisles of toys, or an adult achieving hero status by scoring the hottest toy at a discount on Black Friday, who doesn’t have fond memories about Toys R Us?

Unfortunately, memories may soon be all that’s left, as Toys R Us is on the brink of closing their 735 stores and putting 30,000 people out of work. It’s sad news for pretty much everyone, but where the customer experience is concerned, this sadness points to nostalgia more than anything else.

“They didn’t really innovate…until it was almost too late” -Jeannie Walters

With Amazon selling at a loss and other online retailers stepping up their game with shipping, who wants to fight the crowds these days, only to find out the item they needed happens to be out of stock?

While some may say the demise of Toys R Us was inevitable and bound to happen someday, we’re not so sure we agree. Many retailers have managed to adapt to the digital age by offering experiences you simply can’t get online. Furthermore, others who invested early in their digital experiences and have seen phenomenal returns.

“The second thing Amazon went into after books was toys." -Adam Toporek

So why are things playing out so differently for Toys R Us? Surely the retail giant could have seen this coming and invested in modernizing the experiences they offer.

In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at Toys R Us and their place in the retail landscape. What could they have done differently, and is there a chance they can still survive? More importantly, what lessons can we learn from this as retailers and business leaders in general?

There’s more to this story than you think, so we’re giving you a bit of history and sharing expert insights to help you not become the next Toys R Us. Spoiler: It’s all about the experience, folks!

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