President’s Letter – December 6, 2016: Re-Launching the Play Trade’s Dynamic B2B Marketplace

With just a few months to go until the North American International Toy Fair opens its doors, it’s an opportune time to remind our members about TIA’s online business-to-business marketplace for toys, which has been re-launched as ShopToys365 (previously called ShopToyFair365).

ShopToys365.com has been completely refreshed and rebranded to more accurately reflect the audiences it serves and the great products our industry has to offer, while continuing to allow buyers to browse digital showrooms, discover new products, and place orders online every day of the year. As the play trade’s only B2B social marketplace, the platform has steadily grown into an effective and engaging tool serving the global toy community, with more than 17,000 registered buyers and upwards of 1,600 brands from over 100 countries represented on the site – and counting!

Driven by a shift in how global retail buyers discover new products and vendors, B2B e-commerce is entering a new era – demanding that toy suppliers revolutionize their online and mobile presence. ShopToys365 is an affordable solution that meets the needs of suppliers of all sizes – from startups to multinational companies – and is an easy-to-use, paperless tool that even allows buyers to place orders (often with no minimum requirement) from a wide range of vendors.

Are you taking advantage of this opportunity? ShopToys365 has an average of 181 new buyers joining each month.  Here are a few reasons ShopToys365 is making waves that you should be riding: 

  • Digital showrooms are fully customizable, allowing exhibiting companies to choose the level of access and exposure they’d like to gain by using the platform. Build brand awareness via ShopToys365’s social feed and get featured placement on high-traffic pages throughout the site. Privacy-control and price-setting options ensure that your products and pricing are being seen by the right audiences.
  • Companies can connect and conduct business quickly and simply with global buyers. Toy Fair 2017 exhibit space is sold out, but ShopToys365 has unlimited space, buying hours and potential for growth. It’s also a great way for buyers and sellers to remain connected between face-to-face events held throughout the year.
  • With access to continually updated catalogs of toys and games, retailers are certain to stay on or ahead of trends, providing them with a competitive advantage. While ShopToys365 works well for large-volume buyers, it’s especially useful for small- to medium-sized retailers.

We think the value of ShopToys365 comes down to the “3 Cs” – Community, Connections and Commerce. The site extends the value of events like Toy Fair and Fall Toy Preview to help members generate new leads and nurture existing relationships. Best of all, it can be personalized to meet a buyers’ specific category and pricing needs.

Toymakers can visit www.ShopToys365.com to build their virtual showrooms, while buyers can visit the site to browse a full directory of brands, search for specific product categories or companies, connect and communicate with company contacts, and write orders.

For more information about ShopToys365, including how to sign-up for the Targeted Account Program (TAP), its high quality connection and lead-generation service, contact support@shoptoys365.com.

See you online … and at Toy Fair!

 

All good wishes,

Steve Pasierb

spasierb@toyassociation.org

@StevePasierb