What does the US Toy R Us Toys R Us close tell us?

Sixty years after entering the retail industry, Toys R Us Toys R Us closed its 800 stores in the United States.

Of course, there are many factors that a company fails. If we just point out one point, we will oversimplify the problem. However, Toys R Us outsourced online sales to start-up Amazon in 2000 was seen as a very poor decision, indicating that Toy R Us was bankrupt in less than 20 years. Its story reminds today's retailers that they should be good at responding to changes in their spending habits.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that Toys Anti-Head City's cooperation with Amazon at the time was praised by Wall Street toy investors. The company has since become Amazon's exclusive classified seller without having to bear the necessary losses to build its own online business. This short-term gain has made Toys R Us a major long-term disadvantage, and when it comes to knowing to start building its own online business, everything is already late.

Today's retailers face similar dilemmas in deciding to invest in mobile experiences that may drive online demand, not just the immediate gains. Each retailer has a Google-optimized search strategy, an email strategy that promotes user retention, an incentive for word of mouth, and a brand image of brand affinity.

Most of these investments, however, are to find online customers who are making purchase decisions, not necessarily to introduce them to products and services that they have not considered before. The mobile side creates a unique opportunity for retailers to break through the search-driven world and enter an environment based on product inspiration and discovery, as mobile consumers need this shopping experience. Retailers who don't want to invest in innovation in the mobile shopping experience may have the same fate as today's Toys R Us.

Reshaping the mobile shopping experience

TJX, Ross, QVC, and even the dollar store, many brands are already using the "discovery shopping" concept to build themselves. TJX stores and Homesense even have the slogan: "Home of your next discovery" (your next discovery, here). These companies really cater to the needs of a customer in retail – finding surprises and pleasures in finding a good deal or finding something new.

From the mall to the mobile side, the way retailers participate in the consumer experience must also change, which is why it is very important to adopt the “discovery shopping” concept. While brands like TJX and Ross are doing well on Wall Street today, their website, including any mobile business, is a “reinforcement” approach. Like Toys R Us in 2000, they were initially reluctant to invest in mobile platforms because they had no financial returns in the short term, and later discovered that it was a big mistake.

A good mobile platform should be able to capture the traditional shopping experience, but it should also be designed for the mobile shopping experience. It's not enough to create a simple shopping app (such as excluding interesting, treasure-seeking emotional factors).

To build a successful platform for finding shopping, you have to start with the following three points:

1. Move first

The mobile side is the primary bargaining chip in the current e-commerce field, but some companies still put more energy on the desktop experience and will not succeed. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, half of adults in the United States use mobile phones for online shopping, and this number will only continue to increase. If you don't accept the idea of ​​moving first, you won't be in line with most consumers.

2. Remember that all success is related to "surprise moment"

Discovering the core of shopping, as the name implies, is “discovery”, which is shopping in the form of treasure hunt. Shoppers don't know what the treasures will be, but they want to find exciting things. When customers find the surprises of the items they think of, they must want to celebrate and pay for it. If you can make e-commerce shopping more interesting, business opportunities will naturally follow.

3. Learn to use your data

Mobile sessions can generate more data than retailers get from the Internet—from touch interface, location sharing to mobile personal features—that allow retailers to understand the needs of consumers and the time and place they generate shopping needs. As long as you can take advantage of this data, you can continue to improve and create the best experience over time.

Shopping is not just an act based on demand – the excitement of pre-purchase browsing and “hands-on” is also an essential part. People like to spend time shopping, this simple pastime is a great way to relax. If retailers can grow with shoppers and build a digital shopping experience that's fun to spend time, retailers don't have to worry about going to the same end as Toys R Us Toys R Us.