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imo this comes down to centralization and the popularity of "big box" stores. People generally don't want to go to a specialty store anymore, the toy section a

imo this comes down to centralization and the popularity of "big box" stores. People generally don't want to go to a specialty store anymore, the toy section at Walmart is fine.

lotsofpulp 9y ago
Did they ever want to? I would bet many people prefer the toy to be delivered at home rather than going to Walmart also. Only difference is now we have that option.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  My daughter prefers to pick her toys out in person. For everything else, Walmart Pickup is fine (order the day before, order is brought to the car when you arrive).
gozur88 9y ago
These things go in cycles. When I was a kid if you wanted a toy you went to the toy section of a department store. The department stores spent decades contracting as specialty stores boomed. And now the specialty stores are shrinking in favor of the big box stores. It's likely the specialty stores are being crushed by online retailers. Their raison d'être was always having more inventory depth than general retail, e.g. the shoe store has a much better selection than the shoe department at Sears. But if you're after selection, you can't do better than your browser.
ninkendo 9y ago
Interesting thought. I actually hate big stores because I have to walk a huge distance to find the right section, it’s harder to find the thing I want, they’re more crowded, they’re more likely to be understaffed (30 checkout lines with 2 cashiers is very common)... It’s typically a much bigger waste of time than going to a small store. But I’m definitely a purposeful shopper: I’m always in and out with one goal in mind, I never “browse”. Maybe wal-mart and the like are more attractive to people who just kinda want to browse around and kill time?
- Woofles 9y ago
  For me it's just the fact that if I'm grocery shopping at Target, I can go look at the menswear department for a few minutes because I also like buying new clothes. It's much much harder to buy good fitting and good looking clothes online because you don't get true colors and fit without trying it on. This is a main reason that many box stores target women more than men, since statistically women are more interested in clothing than men.

imo this comes down to centralization and the popularity of "big box" stores. People generally don't want to go to a specialty store anymore, the toy section at Walmart is fine.

lotsofpulp 9y ago

Did they ever want to? I would bet many people prefer the toy to be delivered at home rather than going to Walmart also. Only difference is now we have that option.

toomuchtodo 9y ago
My daughter prefers to pick her toys out in person. For everything else, Walmart Pickup is fine (order the day before, order is brought to the car when you arrive).

gozur88 9y ago

These things go in cycles. When I was a kid if you wanted a toy you went to the toy section of a department store. The department stores spent decades contracting as specialty stores boomed. And now the specialty stores are shrinking in favor of the big box stores. It's likely the specialty stores are being crushed by online retailers. Their raison d'être was always having more inventory depth than general retail, e.g. the shoe store has a much better selection than the shoe department at Sears. But if you're after selection, you can't do better than your browser.

ninkendo 9y ago

Interesting thought. I actually hate big stores because I have to walk a huge distance to find the right section, it’s harder to find the thing I want, they’re more crowded, they’re more likely to be understaffed (30 checkout lines with 2 cashiers is very common)... It’s typically a much bigger waste of time than going to a small store. But I’m definitely a purposeful shopper: I’m always in and out with one goal in mind, I never “browse”. Maybe wal-mart and the like are more attractive to people who just kinda want to browse around and kill time?

Woofles 9y ago
For me it's just the fact that if I'm grocery shopping at Target, I can go look at the menswear department for a few minutes because I also like buying new clothes. It's much much harder to buy good fitting and good looking clothes online because you don't get true colors and fit without trying it on. This is a main reason that many box stores target women more than men, since statistically women are more interested in clothing than men.