Online giant Amazon has pointed its marketing arm at print as it plans to publish a holiday toy catalogue in a drive to win fresh business following the the demise of Toys R Us in the United States.
It will mail the printed guide to millions of US households, and hand it out at Whole Foods Market locations, the grocery chain Amazon bought last year.
Amazon’s toys catalogue forms part of its plan to grab some of the huge toy market that Toys R Us had, and marks a departure in strategy for what has always been an online business.
Toys R Us generated US$6.5bn in US sales last year. Its Big Book toy catalogue has been a key plank in its sales and marketing strategy. Even though its primary audience was digital savvy kids Toys R Us printed a 100 page catalogue every year, with a print run in the millions. Rivals Walmart and target also publish printed catalogues with runs in the millions.
