Given that the store is a main attraction in New York City it justifies the high amount of adult tourists. According to one of two of the store employees, the people who mainly visit the store are tourist and for every 2 children there are 3 adults. While I walked through the different floors of the store, I heard: German, Portuguese, Colombian accents, Argentinian accents and Ecuadorian. Most of the adults were taking pictures with the Dinosaur and excited by the doll house. Others had large bags filled with toys. Given that it is not Christmas, it is probable that the toys are gifts for families back home.
When I read the question: Are children “having tantrums”? I was ready to write a number in the double digits. Of course, given the number of adults, this was not the case. Actually, I didn’t even see one. But then again, I was there for only two hours. One of the stationary employees, selling Kinetic Sand, said that she usually kids throwing about 10 tantrums a day, but to take into account that she stays in one place all day so there may be more.
As for where the products are made, most toys are principally from China but also from Sweden, Philippines, and Taiwan. As for the clothing is mostly from India.
The Toys “R” Us in the city is very different compared to those in college point or Long Island City. Giving that Manhattan is the core location for visitors of New York City, the exaggerated decoration only seems appropriate. The Toys “R” Us in the city is characterized by its interior giant Ferris wheel, the bright and all-color lights, the giant dinosaur, doll house, the people dressed as characters; you don’t see this on a regular Toys “R” Us. These characteristics make Toys “R” Us specifically designed to be a tourist attraction. The toys and their set-up in accordance to the rest of the store work in a form that rather than a store it is more like playroom.
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ReplyDeleteI know I saw a few tantrums, but I noticed how pushy the adults were. Also, the orange shopping bags that Toys R Us provided were HUGE. Those might as well be christmas bags they were so big. Given the high prices of the licensed merchandise, I saw several families with orange bags stuffed with toys. Man, oh, man.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting was how many photos families were taking with the statues in each toy section. For example, there is the giant Ferris Wheel for all the licensed toys, the T-Rex for the "dino" section, Barbie's Dream House for Barbie dolls, King Candy for Candyland, and Spider-Man, Optimus Prime, and Superman for the superhero section. Also, they had live-superheroes, such as Spider-Man and Captain America, there to take photos with those who passed by!
What reels the majority of the tourists in are the fun things they could not only buy, but take pictures with!
Ya, picture taking is such a huge thing nowadays with the advent of facebook, twitter, and other social networking sights. It's not suprising that in todays "selfie" culture, everything becomes about taking a picture to share with people. Toys R Us is smart for taking advantage of that trend and making their store photo friendly.
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