Category: Toys’R’Us

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Toys ‘R’ Us to use AR Experience in bid to Attract Customers This Holiday Season

For one of the worlds largest toy retailers, Toys ‘R’ Us, this holiday season could be make or break for the US retailer as it recently filed for Chapter 11 protection due to its $5 billion USD in long-term debt. The retail giant has been struggling to keep up with the growth in online sales – dominated by companies like Amazon – so its looking at a new way of attracting customers to its stores, augmented reality (AR).

Called Play Chaser the AR experience will launch this week in 23 US Toys ‘R’ Us stores before going nationwide on 21st October. Using a tablet or smartphone the Toys ‘R’ Us mascot, Geoffrey, will greet shoppers informing them of what to do. They’ll be able to follow flashing icons on the floor that’ll direct them to a particular shelf with a sign on it. This sign is then scanned, unlocking an AR toy or activity.

toys-r-us-AR_experience

Created in partnership with PlayFusion, the free app – available through Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon Appstore – tasks shoppers with completing activities which then gain them stars. The bigger the number of stars collected means more content will be unlocked.

These activities can range from a virtual basketball hoop that kids can shoot at solo or alongside friends in-store, to a baby nursery where they can select a unique, digital You & Me doll, take it home and care for it.

“It’s going to transform the experience of coming into a Toys R Us bricks and mortar store and turn it into something that’s quite different and a lot more fun,” CEO Dave Brandon told USA TODAY. “We believe that’s going to drive a lot more traffic into our stores which will ultimately put us in a position where we can be more successful at growing our sales and our company.’’

To celebrate the launch, Toys ‘R’ Us will be running Play Chaser Sweepstakes. Download the app between Friday, 20th October and Saturday, 28th October to be eligible. 2,000 $25 Toys“R”Us gift card are up for grabs, with one winning a grand prize trip for four to the Nickelodeon Resort in Punta Cana.

The 23 stores Play Chaser will be debuting at:

  • Toys“R”Us Allen – 170 E. Stacy Road, Allen, TX
  • Toys“R”Us Yonkers – 1000 Central Park Ave, Yonkers, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Amherst – 3030 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Cary – 201 Crossroad Boulevard, Cary, NC
  • Toys“R”Us Greece – 1530-1550 Ridge Road West, Rochester, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Henrietta – 654 Hylan Avenue, Henrietta, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Lincoln – 5220 N. 27th Street, Lincoln, NE
  • Toys“R”Us Rockford – 6449 E. State, Rockford, IL
  • Toys“R”Us E. San Jose – 2179 Monterey Road, San Jose, CA
  • Toys“R”Us Elk Grove – 8507 Bond Road, Elk Grove, CA
  • Toys“R”Us Times Square – 1466 Broadway, New York, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Secaucus – 3 Mill Creek Drive, Secaucus, NJ
  • Toys“R”Us Elizabeth-KidsWorld – 900 Ikea Drive, Elizabeth, NJ
  • Toys“R”Us Paramus II – 634 Rt. 17 North (at Ridgewood Ave), Paramus, NJ
  • Toys“R”Us Totowa – 445 US-46, Totowa, NJ
  • Toys“R”Us Wayne – 7 Wayne Hills Mall, Wayne, NJ
  • Toys“R”Us Citrus Park – 12845 Citrus Plaza Drive, Tampa, FL
  • Toys“R”Us Brandon – 330 Brandon Town Center Drive, Brandon, FL
  • Toys“R”Us Lakeland – 3770 US-98  North, Lakeland, FL
  • Toys“R”Us Raleigh – 7810 Poyner Pond Circle, North Raleigh, NC
  • Toys“R”Us Durham – 3330 Westgate Drive, Durham, NC
  • Toys“R”Us Long Island City – 3540 48th Street, Long Island City, NY
  • Toys“R”Us Flatbush – 2875 Flatbush Avenue, Flatbush, NY

For the latest AR experience from around the world, keep reading VRFocus.

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TOMY and PlayFusion Announce Lightseekers Now Available At Toys’R’Us

PlayFusion, creators of augmented reality (AR) collectable game Lightseekers along with its major toy licensee TOMY International have announced that Lightseekers toys, trading cards and accessories will now be available in Toys’R’Us stores.

Toys’R’Us are one of the biggest toy stores in the US and Europe, and soon customers visiting Toys’R’Us stores will be able to scan interactive posters and Lightseeker’s packaging to get special AR effects. The Lightseekers app is available to download from the Apple Appstore, the Google Play Store and the Amazon App store and allows users to connect 7” Lightseeker’s action figures to the Lightseeker’s card game. The figures come with their own miniature embedded computers, so NFC portals such as those used for Amiibos are not needed.

Lightseekers action figure

“It has been an incredible journey with our partners at TOMY and Toys”R”Us as we all worked tirelessly to make Lightseekers a reality,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO and Co-Founder of PlayFusion. “Having the Lightseekers product available now at Toys”R”Us stores is the culmination of two and half years of hard work, but it’s just the beginning. We have many more innovations coming over the next few months to Lightseekers, so get ready for the future of connected play.”

“All of us at TOMY and PlayFusion have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and we are thrilled to have Toys”R”Us bring this truly innovative line into its stores. From a very successful Kickstarter campaign to garnering rave early reviews to a successful BETA test that built an actively engaged community, the Lightseekers momentum has led us to this day that we have all been eagerly anticipating for several years now,” said Peter Henseler, President of TOMY International. “We’re looking forward to giving Toys”R”Us customers the chance to experience the innovation behind the game play and see for themselves what sets Lightseekers apart.”

VRFocus will bring you further information on the Lightseekers AR game as it becomes available.