Following its successful transition of the operation of the Toys R Us web site to Amazon.com, Toys R Us Inc. has decided to turn over its Babies R Us web operation to Amazon as well. The site will be a co-branded store at Amazon.com.
The baby store will operate under the terms of the 10-year strategic alliance agreement that Toys “R” Us, Inc.’s Toysrus.com subsidiary and Amazon.com entered into in August 2000. Under the Agreement, Babiesrus.com assumes the merchandising, planning, buying and inventory management of the store’s baby and juvenile products; Amazon.com manages all aspects of the online shopping experience, including web site development, order fulfillment and customer service, and will house Babiesrus.com inventory in its U.S. distribution centers.
“Our alliance with Toysrus.com has proven to be a great win for customers, and we’ve looked forward to taking the next step by introducing the new Babiesrus.com teamed with Amazon.com store since we forged the alliance last August,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. “By teaming with Babiesrus.com, we’re able to bring customers vast selection and category expertise from the world’s leading resource for baby products and a partner that shares our passionate focus on customer experience.”
The new co-branded store gives customers access to the Babies “R” Us gift registry. Customers create, update and buy from the registry at Babiesrus.com. Those who set up registries at one of 145 Babies “R” Us or 710 Toys “R” Us stores can also make them available online.
Customers can shop by brand or price or from eight product categories. In addition, the site will feature a New Parents’ Checklist to help parents identify products they need for themselves and their new baby; a comparison tool lets shoppers compare features of products; pattern browsers will allow customers to select from 20 swatches and see a list of items available in that pattern. The site will also feature information from third-party experts, editors from the co-branded store and other new and expecting parents. These include “Your Pregnancy, Your Baby and You,”-a free, opt-in e-mail series that sends parents personalized e-mails from the editors at Parenting.com and Babiesrus.com/Amazon.com that include advice and information for every stage of pregnancy and the baby’s first year; and Buying Guides, which provide detailed product information to help customers learn about the features, accessories and price points of products such as strollers, car seats and breast pumps.