Monday, December 20, 2010

Holiday TOY WARS

Black Friday is generally seen as the day to abandon all humanity and launch, head first, into the squirming gene pool of commerce that floods retail stores at 4am. Why would someone subject themselves to this pain and mental scarring? DEALS!! Despite what the government would have you believe with their Christmas celebration that most likely uses our money in a disgusting display of elitism...we are still in a recession... which means everyone is hurting, so the brick and mortar stores will go head to head, right up to Christmas day, battling for your holy dollar.

Toys R Us : Stores nationwide will remain open for 88 consecutive hours beginning at 6am on Tuesday, December 21 and continuing through 10pm on Christmas Eve*, offering the most last-minute shoppers every opportunity to find the right toy for the child on their holiday gift lists. This is the first time that all Toys“R”Us stores across the country will stay open 24-hours per day during the final countdown to Christmas.

Additionally, on Tuesday, December 21 and Wednesday, December 22, the company’s final two-day sale of the season will offer holiday shoppers incredible deals and values, with savings of 50% or more on featured items. And, even with Christmas just a few days away, Toys“R”Us stores remain stocked with the hottest toys of the season, including Sing-a-ma-jigs!™ from Mattel®, Disney® Princess & Me™ dolls from JAKKS Pacific® and Fast Lane® Wild Fire RC cars from Toys“R”Us.

Toys“R”Us stores also continue to receive daily deliveries of new products, such as Nerf N-Strike™ Sonic Series™ translucent green blasters from Hasbro®, Dave the Funky Shoulder Monkey, a robotic pet monkey, from Wow! Stuff™ and American Girl® craft sets, including scrapbook, sewing and jewelry kits, from EK Success®.

“We are committed to keeping our stores open continuously during the days leading up to Christmas to ensure shoppers have all the time they need to cross off everything on their little ones’ wish lists,” said Greg Ahearn, Senior Vice President, Marketing and e-commerce, Toys“R”Us, Inc. “Each day, from now through Christmas Eve, our stores continue to receive shipments of the hot products to help parents find that ‘must-have’ toy to put under the tree.”

In addition to ongoing savings on the hottest products, Toys“R”Us will offer special “Midnight Madness” deals valid in-store from midnight through 6am each day, beginning at midnight December 22. These offers will be sent to customers each day via e-mail.

Savvy shoppers looking for savings in the coming week will find the following deals and discounts, among many others, available at Toys“R”Us stores nationwide all day Tuesday, December 21 and Wednesday, December 22, while supplies last**:

* FREE $50 Toys“R”Us Gift Card with the purchase of Nintendo® Wii™ Game System and Wii Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (in-store only)
* FREE Hot Wheels® 10-Car Pack with the purchase of Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set – $9.99 Value
* BUY ONE, GET TWO FREE TRANSFORMERS 2 Fast Action Battlers
* BUY ONE, GET ONE 50% OFF ALL Video Game Accessories Priced up to $19.99 (in-store only)
* OVER 50% OFF Riptunes 2GB MP3 Player – Was $29.99; Now $14.47
* 50% OFF BABY ALIVE Real Surprises Baby Doll – Was $39.99; Now $19.99
* 50% OFF Imaginarium® Spiral Train Set – Was $49.99; Now $24.99
* 50% OFF ALL Liv™ Dolls, Sets and Accessories – prices vary
* SAVE $150 on Big Backyard Carlisle Wood Gym Set – Was $499.99; Now $349.99
* SAVE $81 on Coby® 19” LED High Definition TV – Was $229.99; Now $148.99
* SAVE $60 on Power Wheels® Kawasaki® Brute Force – Was $299.99; Now $239.99
* SALE on Mattel® Sing-a-ma-Jigs!™ – Was $12.99; Now $9.99 each

Toys“R”Us Times Square Gives the ‘City that Never Sleeps’ Even More Hours to Shop

To help New Yorkers and out-of-town visitors find time to complete their last-minute holiday shopping, Toys“R”Us Times Square will remain open from 6am on Friday, December 17 through 10pm on Christmas Eve, providing gift-givers with 184 continuous hours of shopping. In addition to offering the same deals and savings as Toys“R”Us stores nationwide, customers at Toys“R”Us Times Square can hear the roar of the life-sized T-Rex dinosaur or make themselves at home in the 4,000 square-foot Barbie® dollhouse, two of the store’s many unique attractions.

KMart : Kmart announced it will offer last-minute holiday shoppers reduced prices1 on more than 1,400 must-have toys to help shoppers finish their Christmas lists. Just last week, the average person admitted they had only completed nearly half of their holiday shopping, leaving most Americans with a lot of shopping to still do, according to National Retail Federation’s 2010 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch.

With so many last minute cost-conscious shoppers, Kmart is helping make this holiday season easier and more affordable for all families. In addition to extended store hours, Kmart will offer special deals on toys starting today through Dec. 24 so customers can still get fabulous gifts at a great value.

Additionally, Kmart is offering customers special deals on popular items every kid has on their list. For example, when you purchase toys like Lego, Kung Zhu and remote control cars, deep discounts will be offered on the second purchase.

“We’re dedicated to offering our customers great prices on the best toys of the season. With only nine days left until Christmas, we are offering last-minute shoppers great deals to help them complete their lists,” said Dev Mukherjee, president of Seasonal, Toys and Home Appliances for Sears Holdings. “We’ve listened to our customers and know that they are still looking to get great deals on toys that will make their child’s Christmas more memorable. To help make this happen, we have extended our sales to offer an incredible selection of toys at unbelievable prices.”

Leading up to Christmas, savvy shoppers can find many of the hottest toy brands on sale at Kmart. Some examples include:
• 20 percent off select WWE, Bakugan and Tech Deck
• 30 percent off all Nerf Sports items
• 20 percent off select Toy Story toys
• 25 percent off all Moon Dough
• 25 percent off all Mattel Games
• $9.99 Hasbro Board Games, including select classic board games such as Sorry, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Connect 4, Twister, Scrabble, Monopoly, Trouble.

In addition, Kmart offers some of the most sought-after toys at best-of-the-season prices, including:
• Apples to Apples for $9.99
• Liv Fashion Dolls for $9.99
• Nerf-N-Strike Deploy CS-6 Blaster for $14.99
• Play-Dough Mega Fun Factory for $14.99
• Baby Alive “Bouncing Baby Babbles” for $17.99
• Mind Flex for $54.99

OK maybe its not so much a war as it is a skirmish. Upon checking in with Target and Walmart, it seems business as usual with average holiday hours but no huge week before sales announcements. I'd keep watching though!

2 comments :

  1. Sadly Toys R Us raised the prices of everything in their store for this promotion. It's pretty sad.

    ReplyDelete