Some thoughts on Hasbro and pre-orders
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:00 pm
I’ve looked at Hasbro’s policies through a few angles and the thing that surprises me about the company is the confusing lack of desire for consumer data, feedback, and direct access to my wallet.
I would like to see Hasbro institute a pre-order program either directly or through a preferred retailer, such as the Hasbro Toy Shop or any number of toy retailers. The idea behind this is multifold:
1) Pre-orders would help determine the popularity of a specific toy. For instance, if the following deluxe figures are available for pre-order with the following number representing a pre-ordered amount:
Bumblebee 250
Airachnid 300
Ironhide 400
Vehicon 500
Rumble 450
Wheeljack 300
Okay, Vehicon is outselling Bumblebee 2 to 1. Maybe the next case assortment should look like this:
Bumblebee x0
Airachnid x1
Ironhide x2
Vehicon x2
Rumble x2
Wheeljack x1
“Hmmm... Bumblebee’s not selling as well as the others. Let’s drop him out of this case pack and move him back a month to see if orders increase. We can always fulfill the orders by recalling some of the immense amount of stock available in stores with a buyback program or making a small run of ‘Bee figures.”
Armed with the pre-order information, Hasbro can now extrapolate which characters consumers are looking forward to and whether or not certain figures should be discontinued. Making this data public would also help retailers decide what case packs are going to be popular during a given run.
Now if you’ve read this far and you’re thinking “But this only applies to collectors!” try this thought as well: Can you think of a parent who wouldn’t want to have the latest toys paid for or guaranteed for Christmas well ahead of Christmastime?
2) If Hasbro offered this pre-order program directly through its store, Hasbro would be the direct recipient of money. BBTS and other retailers would probably be sad, but as stated above the pre-order data would be useful for determining inventory. Additionally, places like BBTS could begin to offer more precise pre-orders as well, without being stuck with a bunch of figures a la three to four FoC Op and Jazzes for every one or two Shockwaves.
Additionally, this combats Hasbro’s poor distribution by letting Hasbro know exactly what will sell. With the added information from your store profile, perhaps this could also combat the glut of non-transforming merchandise on the shelves in certain areas.
3) Through the use of social media, Hasbro could ask consumers directly which toy did the consumer like best. If social media appears too limiting, then Hasbro could partner with sites like Seibertron.com to reach out to their consumers and find out answers to questions such as:
Did you like this mold?
What kinds of problems did this mold have?
If this mold were to be re-used for another character, who would you like to see it become?
And again, this information could be released to other retailers and help them decide on which exclusives to release if the option is available. It would help prevent a loss on the toys with figures such as BBTS’ Seacons and many of Wal-Mart’s Universe offerings. Or Target’s Exclusive Titaniums.
And again once more, this is the type of thing parents interested in their children’s toys and activities go for. “This toy broke too easily.” “The parts are too small.” “I don’t think the recommended age is correct.” “Can you release this again? My son and his cousin really like it but we could only find one.”
I’ll add more as time goes on, but this is the general gist of things I would be very happy to see implemented.
I would like to see Hasbro institute a pre-order program either directly or through a preferred retailer, such as the Hasbro Toy Shop or any number of toy retailers. The idea behind this is multifold:
1) Pre-orders would help determine the popularity of a specific toy. For instance, if the following deluxe figures are available for pre-order with the following number representing a pre-ordered amount:
Bumblebee 250
Airachnid 300
Ironhide 400
Vehicon 500
Rumble 450
Wheeljack 300
Okay, Vehicon is outselling Bumblebee 2 to 1. Maybe the next case assortment should look like this:
Bumblebee x0
Airachnid x1
Ironhide x2
Vehicon x2
Rumble x2
Wheeljack x1
“Hmmm... Bumblebee’s not selling as well as the others. Let’s drop him out of this case pack and move him back a month to see if orders increase. We can always fulfill the orders by recalling some of the immense amount of stock available in stores with a buyback program or making a small run of ‘Bee figures.”
Armed with the pre-order information, Hasbro can now extrapolate which characters consumers are looking forward to and whether or not certain figures should be discontinued. Making this data public would also help retailers decide what case packs are going to be popular during a given run.
Now if you’ve read this far and you’re thinking “But this only applies to collectors!” try this thought as well: Can you think of a parent who wouldn’t want to have the latest toys paid for or guaranteed for Christmas well ahead of Christmastime?
2) If Hasbro offered this pre-order program directly through its store, Hasbro would be the direct recipient of money. BBTS and other retailers would probably be sad, but as stated above the pre-order data would be useful for determining inventory. Additionally, places like BBTS could begin to offer more precise pre-orders as well, without being stuck with a bunch of figures a la three to four FoC Op and Jazzes for every one or two Shockwaves.
Additionally, this combats Hasbro’s poor distribution by letting Hasbro know exactly what will sell. With the added information from your store profile, perhaps this could also combat the glut of non-transforming merchandise on the shelves in certain areas.
3) Through the use of social media, Hasbro could ask consumers directly which toy did the consumer like best. If social media appears too limiting, then Hasbro could partner with sites like Seibertron.com to reach out to their consumers and find out answers to questions such as:
Did you like this mold?
What kinds of problems did this mold have?
If this mold were to be re-used for another character, who would you like to see it become?
And again, this information could be released to other retailers and help them decide on which exclusives to release if the option is available. It would help prevent a loss on the toys with figures such as BBTS’ Seacons and many of Wal-Mart’s Universe offerings. Or Target’s Exclusive Titaniums.
And again once more, this is the type of thing parents interested in their children’s toys and activities go for. “This toy broke too easily.” “The parts are too small.” “I don’t think the recommended age is correct.” “Can you release this again? My son and his cousin really like it but we could only find one.”
I’ll add more as time goes on, but this is the general gist of things I would be very happy to see implemented.