Tom Pirovano, Director, Industry Insights
There’s been some buzz in the news recently about Toys “R” Us acquiring FAO Schwartz. I’m confused by some of the perceived pessimism regarding toy retailers struggling to keep pace with mass merchandisers. From my “food guy” perspective, Toys “R” Us and FAO Schwartz have some very strong brand equity that has the potential to be leveraged in several creative ways. Here are a few opportunities I’d love to see Toys “R” Us pursue if they haven’t already been tested or discussed.

First, change the focus from …

Nielsen Games released its March 2009 data for top console usage and PC game titles with Playstation 2 and the role-playing game World Of Warcraft again topping their respective lists.

Nielsen Games released its January 2009 data for top console usage and PC game titles with Playstation 2 and the role-playing game World Of Warcraft topping their respective lists.
Top Game Consoles January 2009

Rank
Console
Usage
Minutes %

1
PlayStation 2
23.7

2
Wii
20.7

3
Xbox 360
18.2

4
PlayStation 3
9.0

5
Xbox
7.9

6
GameCube
3.3

7
Other
17.2

Source: Nielsen Games – GamePlay Metrics™
Usage Minutes % is the percent of all measured console minutes
“Other” consists of any other console systems found in the home

Top  10 PC Game Titles January 2009

Rank
Title
Publisher
Share
Avg. Min
Per Week
TMP%

1
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment
12.090
649
46.560

2
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic
Ubisoft
0.978
732
4.403

3
Second Life
Linden Lab
1.488
520
3.589

4
Warcraft III: …

Internet Retailer reports that online giant eBay is the most searched on retailer on the Internet, according to Nielsen Online. The term “ebay” received nearly 17 million searches during the month of August.  The search numbers are based on Nielsen Online’s MegaView Search Custom Data.
The term “webkinz” topped the list of product searches in August, according to Nielsen Online. The web-linked stuffed animals were searched for more than 5.5 million times online. The Toys and Games categories dominated product searches for the month.
Below are the top 10 retailer and product Web …

More Americans than ever before are buying smartphones and using mobile data services like text messaging, games, email, mobile Internet, video, and ringtones. 
But while mobile media use has grown rapidly in recent years, mobile advertising has been slow to take hold, Nielsen Mobile reported in a white paper released Tuesday.
In the U.S., some 76.8 million mobile users recall seeing advertising on their phones, according to Nielsen, but 63% report encountering mobile ads only infrequently — once a month or less.  Meanwhile, less than two-thirds of website homepage page views feature …