Retail Opinion – John Ryan ponders the

A vision of future toy retail?

Picture this. You’re heading to Playazon, a new toy shop that’s just opened in town (it’s from the US, apparently). You’ve downloaded the retailer’s app, because the blurb that was London’s Ealing makes food shopping easy and ‘seamless’ (the buzzword for retail in 2021, surely) and more are on the way in the near future, in London at least. pushed through your door said that’s what you have to do, and you’ve But beyond the world of food, could checkout-free stores decided to take your young nephew Rob with you - who knows, you represent a practical proposition, and would shoppers take to might even treat him to a toy if you’re feeling generous. them? The answer would seem to be a qualifi ed yes. Once you’ve

Arriving at the store you fl ash the QR code that appears, courtesy got over the initial hurdle represented by downloading an app and of the app, on your phone and walk in. Two things are immediately apparent. There’s no cash counter and staff are thinner on the ground than in Playland, which is in the ageing mall just around the corner. Rob is impressed. The store appears to have the latest “Beyond the world of food, could then got used to deploying it when you enter a shop, this is all pretty easy. There are staff in the Amazon store, of course (the shelves do need to be replenished) but if the checkoutfree principle was extended to toy retail, regular edition (compatible with the graphics card he asked you for and which you bought) of Slay Them All 2, which does sound a mite inappropriate, but well, y’know, young checkout-free stores represent replenishment would be less of an issue owing to the nature of the stock. That said, you’d still need staff to demonstrate how a specifi c toy works and to tempt people. While he’s inspecting this and working out an a practical onlookers into buying it. appropriate strategy to get you to dig deep, you happen proposition, and At this point, the iceberg that is retail economics to glance up. They’re not immediately obvious (mainly because the would shoppers becomes visible. Making things easier for shoppers sounds like a good idea and getting rid of queues must

ceiling is black) but there are cameras - lots of them. take to ” be something that is in demand. But what about the They seem to be pointing at you and you don’t really like them? cost? The cameras and motion sensors that are integral the implication. But what you do know is that whatever to the Amazon operation come at a price and currently, you take off the shelf and put in your bag you will be with the exception of travel retailer Hudson News in charged for. With this in mind, you opt to buy something the US, there have been no takers, under licence, of the small for Rob. Amazon tech that’s involved.

You choose a product (and it’s not a bad selection really - they seem to Even the Seattle tech giant admits that making a profi t from have most of what you might want or what you’ve heard him talk about) its high street ‘just walk out’ stores is something of a distant and fi nd Rob. He appears to be on the verge of shoplifting. You always prospect. But suppose the price does come down - and it thought his mum wasn’t a terribly responsible parent and determine to will, because that’s the way of the tech world - would have words when you drop him off. Removing Slay 2 from the inside of you want to have a counter-free toy shop? his jacket, you can’t quite work out why the sole member of staff that was It’s entirely possible that what I saw in Ealing watching him continues to smile benignly. No matter, you leave - safe in is a little slice of the future. But it’s a future the knowledge that you’ve got it all sorted before anything bad happens. that is some way off, even with the obvious

Dropping Rob off, you have those prescripted words ready and duly stimulus provided by Covid-19, because deliver them. Frostiness all round, and then you’re on the way home. Now speed is not of the essence in toy retailing. to take a look at how much that thing you bought actually cost. You peer Time is a luxury afforded to few, but you at your phone and realise that the invoice says you’ve purchased not one, probably set aside more of it when you but three items - and that while the item you bought was less than £10, head into a toy shop than when you enter you have spent just over £35. a supermarket.

The truth dawns. Rob has indeed proved to be light-fi ngered and the And on cost, scale matters. Shoppers receipt for his theft is there for you to look at. Somehow - who knows will like the no checkout idea in principle. how - your nephew has been included by Playazon as part of your But if what’s involved means paying more shopping party. for the merchandise, or the retailer taking a

Now if you think this sounds somewhat improbable as a vision of future mild margin haircut, then ‘seamless’ toy shops retail, just think about Amazon Fresh. The ‘freshly opened’ store in West will not be around anytime soon.

John Ryan pays a visit to the Amazon Fresh store in London and ponders the prospect of extending the ‘just walk out’ principle to the toy trade

John Ryan is Stores Editor of business magazine Retail Week. He has worked for the title for more than a decade covering store design, visual merchandising and what makes things sell in-store. In a previous life, he was a buyer.