Amazon enlists moms to rate toys

Amazon is using reviews from parents to push its products

Amazon.com Inc's Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos has a knack for harnessing product reviews to get customers to buy online. His latest move: Web-savvy moms whose opinions are coveted by peers who want to know what's hot this holiday season.

Lisa Diaz unknowingly became part of that marketing push last month after posting a comment on how much her son would like a train set shown on an Amazon social-media page. The company took her feedback - along with that from 400,000 other moms who post on one of the company's Facebook pages - and distilled it into a "Mom Picks 2014" list of 50 top toys and games for the end-of-year period. Amazon is now prominently displaying the list, which features a web-slinging Spider-Man and a "Frozen" ice-skating Elsa doll.

Diaz and others are part of an ad hoc focus group called "Amazon Mom" that the largest US online retailer is increasingly tapping to push products in its most lucrative period. Started last year, "Mom Picks" was rolled out as one of many holiday shopping tools - and it ended up being one of the most popular as people looked to sift through gift ideas.

It's all part of the marketing ploys that e-commerce companies are using to gain an edge this holiday season, when US online sales are projected to reach $82 billion, up 15 per cent from a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation.

For Amazon, attracting buyers is crucial this holiday season. Last week, the company forecast sales for the current period that fell short of analysts' estimates. Its stock, which is down 27 per cent this year, plunged 8.3 per cent the day after the report.

Toys, along with video games and books, are among the few products that holiday shoppers prefer to purchase online as opposed to brick-and-mortar stores, according to a survey of 1,000 people conducted by research firm Market Track in Chicago. Online sales of toys and hobby supplies in the US will hit $12.1 billion this year, up 15 per cent from 2013, according to EMarketer.

Amazon started a Facebook page for parents in 2010 to promote its site as a convenient shopping destination for parents. To become a member of the Amazon Mom group, people simply like the page on Facebook. Dads can join too and some have, though the page is just called Amazon Mom.

The page then steers people to a free 30-day trial of Amazon Mom membership, which eventually costs $99 a year. The programme is the same as Amazon's $99 Prime fast-shipping program, except it also includes a 20 per cent discount on diapers and members earn a $10 Amazon credit for each friend they refer. In exchange, consumers provide information about themselves to the company. Amazon uses the insights for targeted marketing.

@2014 The New York Times