Prodigy Toys Coming Soon!
- Thread starter Danja
- Start date
This is more or less the case and becomes a bit of a self-repeating cycle. Stores shrink the space and then the product doesn't move so stores shrink the space further and product doesn't move.
Toys are very much a seasonal thing in terms of appeal. Christmas and such means higher traffic and then it drops back down. Lego does much better, as does video games, and dart blasters, like NERF or gel blasters now. Action figures are hit and miss, even with films catering more to kids, like Lightyear. Lots of the Lightyear merchandise ended up on clearance. Same with Black Atom. The more niche a property is, like Trek, the less appeal there seems to be.
That was true even when Lucasfilms was originally peddling the Star Wars toy license back in 1976. Conventional wisdom at the time was that a toyline based on a movie was very risky, because if the movie was a flop, naturally the toys would be a flop as well. As such, both Mattel and Mego passed on Star Wars, but the then relatively small Kenner decided to take a gamble and the rest was, y'know...
In a very real sense, the success of Star Wars as a movie-based toyline was a total fluke, and one that's never really been duplicated as far as sales go. Heck, it was big enough for Lucas to finance The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on his own, IIRC...
Yes, they do. Largely because you have a lot of people who do gift giving based upon impulse buying, as well as children wandering through and showing things off. While probably minor, this is not insignificant, at least to my eyes which is more anecdotal. But, recently I have been going to stores (Walmart, Target, Macy's and their Toys R Us section). While not huge, I usually see people moving through these sections and picking out items. Jurassic Park/World sections are very large at my local Walmarts, as well as a lot of video game tie in figures (Fortnite, Among Us, etc.) with Star Wars and Star Trek kind of fit in here and there.
Brick and mortar matter because it provides that impulse level buying that isn't always present in retailers, as well as the instant gratification facet of human psychology.
The bigger aspect against brick and mortar is poor inventory management, with some stores getting a larger selection, while other stores not. That's more uneven which can lead to the appearance of less relevancy.
Again, all anecdotal, but I think there is more to it than just online sales.
Parent? No. Family members? Well, as I said, anecdotal but I've seen it a couple of times on my hunts for Star Wars figures at Wal-Mart.No parent buys a $15 action figure on impulse.
Waiting for Rok Tahk.
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