Toy Story, Too

Online toy retailers are locked in a fierce battle for the top spot this holiday season, according to the Winter Online Toy Scorecard released today by (www.gomez.com) e-commerce research and analysis firm Gomez Advisors, Lincoln, Mass. (www.etoys.com) Etoys.com won best overall site, edging out (www.amazon.com) Amazon.com by less than one quarter of a point, according to the scorecard. Following Etoys and Amazon were (www.kbkids.com) KBKids.com, (www.smarterkids.com) SmarterKids.com and (www.zainybrainy.com) ZanyBrainy.com. "The fierce competition between Etoys and Amazon is a classic case of two online retail heavyweights engaging in a battle of oneupmanship to capture customers," says Gomez Advisors Senior Analyst Liz Leonard.
     Gomez Advisors estimates that online toy sales will account for more than $170 million in the fourth quarter of 1999, nearly 70% of the entire online toy market for the year. From the weekend before Thanksgiving through the weekend after this year, online toy sales rose an unprecedented 85%, it says. Gomez expects online toy sales to exceed $1 billion by 2002.
     Convenience, product selection and price are driving online sales, says Leonard, and consumers "are being served exceptionally well by the online toy industry" across multiple segments-Educational Toy Buyer, Bargain Shoppers and Gift Buyers, among other survey categories. Also, online customer service for this industry is perceived as superior to what is available in the stores.
     Several online toy retailers were hampered last year by fulfillment problems with and site crashes, and these problems persist, says Leonard, "making the real wait-and-see part of this holiday season whether toy retailers can handle the volume of traffic they attract."