Before each holiday season, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) gathers hundreds of kids at a convention center near its Arkansas headquarters.
The young testers try out lots of toys and pick those they would like to get from Santa. That shapes the retailer’s list of top toys and determines which ones it orders in abundance.
This year, the company mailed toys to several dozen kids to test at home, one example of how the coronavirus pandemic has changed norms for the holiday season — even before it has truly begun.
Walmart had to come up with the workaround for its toy testing group to compile its list of top-rated toys. It developed an online tool that lets kids virtually unbox, test and play with toys since multiple kids can’t wheel around the same truck or play with the same doll in store aisles or at demos due to the pandemic.
Walmart Wonder Lab will allow kids to try over 100 toys and guide virtual hands to interact with them. It’s a scaled-up version of a tool the company had the past two holiday seasons.
Officials with the Arkansas-based retail giant said the retailer has shipped more toys to fulfillment centers this year because it anticipates many customers to buy them online.
Toys that will be sold this holiday season hit store shelves in August to see how they performed, company officials added.
WMT shares began Thursday unchanged to $147.79.
Related Stories
