New US Toys R Us stores are kind of creepy.

[megomania]

I don’t know about anywhere else in the country...but here in Northern California...all the Targets are in nice areas...while the Walmarts are located in seedy areas next to freeways.

Two totally different target demographics...Wal-Mart's business model is to open up stores in lower-income neighborhoods. Not always though - we have a huge Wal-Mart in a very nice mini-mall in Bellevue...there's also a Target in the same mall. Both are anchor stores. But otherwise, what you said above. Although I'm not sure what the significance of freeways has to do with it, other than it's probably really easy access for people rather than getting off the freeway and driving through arterials.

-Chris

[Hector]

Really? You think WalMart is squeaky clean?

I don’t know about anywhere else in the country...but here in Northern California...all the Targets are in nice areas...while the Walmarts are located in seedy areas next to freeways.

[MRP]

I am not sure there is a public space left anywhere in the US where cameras are not in use and where yo are not being recorded, whether they notify you or not. And if there is not a camera per se, it's likely some private citizen with a phone is filming somewhere in the vicinity so you are being filmed anyways. Not saying it's a good thing, just where things are at at this point in the 21st century. Heck, things like google maps and google earth means large swaths of non-public space is also being filmed, so the fact that someone is now trying to monetize it (or that people have been trying to monetize it in various ways for a while now) is not shocking, or even news really.

-M

[Werewolf]

More news article on the privacy concerns of the new TRU.

"Toys “R” Us Pivots From Teddy Bears to Surveillance"

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8844x5/toys-r-us-pivots-from-teddy-bears-to-surveillance

"Toys “R” Us Is Back—Now With More Surveillance!"

https://www.wired.com/story/toys-r-us-surveillance/

[thunderbolt]

Hardly, I just give them a tiny bit of credit for clearly posting cameras are in use.

Not sure who posts it or not, for me I just assume they are monitoring wherever I am, Target, Publix, the bank whatever.

[Makernaut]

"It's really me, your old pal TRU... Pay no attention to the stitches..."

The idea of this made gave me a good laugh!

[ODBJBG]

Honestly this whole "TRU Revival" is ridiculous. It's akin to someone killing Toys R Us and then skinning them and parading around in the skin suit and hoping that no one notices the difference.

"It's really me, your old pal TRU... Pay no attention to the stitches..."

It's a shame there was more money is closing TRU than actually selling it to real investors who wanted to keep the stores open and the brand alive. They had a couple of legit offers.

[Werewolf]

Really? You think WalMart is squeaky clean?

Hardly, I just give them a tiny bit of credit for clearly posting cameras are in use.

[thunderbolt]

At least Walmart states cameras are in use. They also do it mostly for watching for crimes like shop lifting. They don't do it to gather and sell children's data by spying on them in the toy department.

Really? You think WalMart is squeaky clean?

[Wee67]

This is just the next step, albeit more a giant leap, in an industry that has existed for decades. Even I worked my part-time job in retail in high school, there were both in-house and external consultants that collected data on the shopping habits of both adults and kids. Its how rack toys ended up at the cash register in the super market. I think the seeming omniscience and efficiency with which these companies collect data is what has added the creepy factor. They've always been invasive, but the depths of that invasion is impressive/creepy. They've also always been secretive but their ability to collect data almost undetected is even more scary.

And big data has become much, much more lucrative. Facebook's profit model is founded on collecting and selling all kinds of data. Big data is big money. I think lots of our generation is much more uncomfortable with all this Big Brother stuff than our younger generations.

[Werewolf]

Again, this is hardly unique to the new Toys R Us.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmir...er-father-did/

What Target did doesn't make it less creepy that the new TRU are gathering and selling children's data. I don't like that in their new business model children's data is their product instead of selling toys. It might not bother some. It bothers me. Children should not have their data harvested and sold. I'm amazed it's even legal.

BTW: I'm also not keen on micro targeting. I don't like that google targets us with ads based on location. It's creepy, it's invasive and our loss of privacy is nothing we should rejoice in.

[Teemu]

Don't worry, this will FAIL too...these stores don't represent anything like TRU. This is someone taking the name and trying to make a quick buck until they are forced out of business again.

[sprytel]

Again, this is hardly unique to the new Toys R Us.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

[Myoldtoys]

I agree that their new model is creepy. Then again, I'm the kind of person who doesn't have a facebook account and doesn't sign up for any "loyalty" (aka stalking) programs. I guess that is the way things work now. More money in licensing since they can't compete on price or volume.

[Mr.Marion]

Doesn't it make you nostalgic for the days when Mego didn't even enough data collected to know Mxyzptlk was a poor seller?