Toys ‘R’ Us sees value in online presence…

Author: Andy | Filed under: Business, Ecommerce

I promise, my earlier post was written before I read about this! I don’t plan these things y’know, I just let them happen and today we’ve seen that Toys ‘R’ Us (I tried to find a backwards ‘R’ but couldn’t), has splashed out a whopping $5Million on the domain ‘Toys.com’.

Still think you shouldn’t be on the Internet?

In a press release today, we hear:

Toys’R'Us has reportedly paid $5.1m (£3.6m) for the Toys.com domain name, hinting at a deeper commitment to online retailing for the toy giant.

Would you believe it? Well yes, I would.

You see more and more businesses are seeing the decline of traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ business as digital media takes over. It’s happening more and more and the current recession is accelerating it. As companies look to reduce costs, they are seeing that the online route is safer, cheaper and more efficient. No other medium is so quick to adapt and yet so cheap – it’s changing the landscape forever.

So what can you do about it? Well, you don’t need to spend a fortune on a domain name to get going on the web – you just need to do something, but you need to do it now.

Compared to bricks and mortar, setting up a business on the Internet is inexpensive and you can test the water without going into massive debt. But you can also adapt. Add pages here, alter images there – you can out manoeuvre, outwit and out sell traditional business for a fraction of the cost.

Interested?

Share and Enjoy:

4 Responses for "Toys ‘R’ Us sees value in online presence…"

almir
March 8th, 2009 at 7:36 am

1

unbelievable how toys r us went out of their way to pay 5.1 million dollars for a domain name talk about insanity
knowledge protection
March 16th, 2009 at 3:50 am

2

It doesn’t surprise me but I’m sure the price tag will be well worth it in the long run. Branding and owning a niche are one of the keys to success in Internet marketing. Especially in retail!

Thanks,

Mike
Richard Smith
March 18th, 2009 at 10:01 am

3

Hi,

That’s a really interesting bit of news, thanks for that.

I have to say though that your two comments on how cheap it is to retail online are a bit misleading and it’s as a result of this view that so many shops have failed miserably at this.

The reason for this is that it’s not just about bunging up a web site and hoping for the best, you need stock control, customer services, despatch, Paid and natural marketing and about a million other things.
admin
March 18th, 2009 at 10:25 am

4

You’re right, it may sound misleading, so I’ll just add to it to clarify…

Setting up a web version of your existing store is cheaper than buying/leasing new premises in another High Street. It’s also very cheap to get a drop-shipping account (about £10 per month!) and set up a site to run it with no other overheads.

However (and it’s a big ‘however’), if you rely on the ‘if you build it they will come’ attitude then you’ll end up with no sales.

A business needs investment, time and commitment – regardless of whether it’s the web or bricks and mortar.