Amazon might be publishing a toy catalog, reports say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This Sept. 6, 2012, file photo, shows the Amazon logo in Santa Monica, Calif. Amazon will block Australians from buying from its international e-commerce websites and restrict them to a smaller local platform from July in response to new tax rules that consumer advocates fear will reduce the range of choice for customers in Australia, Amazon said in a statement on Friday June 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press)
Amazon has done a very good job of getting us all buying things on the internet, and in the process we've seen the decline of businesses selling through catalogs shipped to your home. Now Amazon is thought to be embracing the older way of convenient home shopping by sending out millions of printed toy catalogs.
As Bloomberg reports, Amazon is set to print toy catalogs to send out in time for the holiday season. Using snail mail, millions of these catalogs will be shipped out to homes across the US while anyone shopping at a Whole Foods will have the catalog handed to them.
This may seem like an unusual move for Amazon, but Jeff Bezos is no dummy when it comes to spotting an opportunity. Toys "R" Us is no more, but the company managed to generate $6.5 billion in sales last year selling toys. Bezos wants to bring those sales to Amazon, and a printed catalog just like Toys "R" Us used to offer is a relatively inexpensive experiment for a company as big as Amazon to try.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another advantage of the printed catalog is it should reach consumers who either don't yet use the internet for shopping, or who haven't used Amazon before. For many, especially older US consumers, the catalog will be a more familiar way to shop and Amazon can use it as a gateway to their online store.
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The process of picking something from the catalog to purchasing it will be as simple as possible and may involve the Amazon app and your phone/tablet camera. There's no doubt going to be a number you can call to place an order, too, and would you bet against a "Prime price" being listed (and lower) than the regular price? I wouldn't.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.