Tuesday, December 16, 1997

Toy registry makes a child's life a lot easier

By BRIAN BETHEL

Staff Writer

Little Bobby's life has just become a whole lot easier.

You see, he desperately wants that Super Hyperkinetic Cyborg Man action figure. So much so that he can practically taste it.

Well, he's in luck.

Assuming a Toys R Us is handy, Little Bobby no longer has to waste valuable time on the phone, Internet or writing a letter explaining his wishes to Santa, relatives and other sources of potential loot.

Instead, he can zap his wishes into a national database set up by Toys R Us that anyone, from Aunt Edna in Florida to Grandma in Nebraska, can access at any of the chain's stores.

Yep, that's right. Tykes now have their own gift registry, and if the local response is any indication, it is a stroke of marketing genius.

"We've had a baby registry for some time and that has proven to be extremely popular," said Pat Gray, manager at the Abilene Toys R Us. "This is the same idea, but it's designed to help with birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, that sort of thing."

Although Abilenians haven't beaten down the door of the local store to access the service, quite a few have completed the process and have been pleased with the results.

"We've had a growing number of customers come in and do this," Gray said. "Once the word gets out about how easy and convenient the process is, I think it is going to be even more popular. The parents seem to really enjoy the convenience, and the kids have fun doing it."

The chain has created the registry at all of its stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. And like registries for brides-to-be, it allows youngsters to put together a wish list of gifts they would like to receive.

The way it works is simple:

-- Parents take their child to their local store and sign up at the customer service desk.

-- Hand-held price scanners are administered to the youthful shopper - the local store has three and hopes to get more soon.

-- The child and his parents then go through the store, looking for tempting toys. When Bobby finds one, all he has to do is scan the bar code on it and the tempting toy is added to his list.

-- The item is then entered electronically into Bobby's personal registry. Any Toys R Us can access his list, determine if what he wants is in stock, see if someone has already purchased the item, etc.

-- Shoppers return their scanners and get a printout to take with them.

Company officials say the toy registry saves shopping time for busy adults and cuts down on return hassles for both the store and the gift-getters.

"I think it will be extremely popular," Gray said. "We've offered the (new) registry locally for about two months now, and the response has been very good."

Rebecca Caruso, vice president for corporate communications at the company's Paramus, N.J.-headquarters, said the toy registry is particularly popular with out-of-town grandparents.

"People liked it," she said of a two-year test run in Detroit. "They thought it was a nice service and a convenience for them."

<I>The Associated Press contributed to this article.<I>