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Not The Merriest of Seasons For Toysrus.com
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 A few weeks ago Toysrus.com was a media darling. Online shoppers were clicking their way to the site in droves based on the strength of their familiarity with the brand name, over other online toy retailers such as KBKids and eToys. Now, it seems, the tide has turned in light of Toysrus.com's admission that they will be unable to get many orders to their customers in time for Christmas.Toys R Us said overwhelming volume prevented it from processing and fulfilling the entire batch of orders placed on or before Dec. 10, its deadline for Christmas delivery by standard shipping. The Toys R Us Web site showed the broadest increase over 1998, with a 355 percent jump in traffic during Thanksgiving week to about 1.6 million visitors from 350,000 in 1998, according to a Media Metrix survey. "Basically e-commerce had a phenomenal year," said a spokesperson for the Paramus, N.J.-based toy retailer. "Due to the volume, Toys R Us has been doing as many transactions as they can, but couldn't get through all the orders." Toys R Us has notified the affected customers by e-mail, explaining they could cancel their orders for a refund or use 100 "Geoffrey dollars", named for the company's giraffe mascot, toward purchases at its retail locations. One Geoffrey dollar is equal in value to one U.S. dollar. Toys R Us emphasized the news -- disappointing to some and perhaps welcome to others -- affected only a small percentage of online shoppers, but the retailer did not disclose the exact figure. Toys R Us said customers that did not receive an e-mail should be getting their toys in time to place under the Christmas tree. [Updated 12-23-99]
  
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