Toy Retailer Scraps Pink & Blue Labelling And Separate Floors For Girls & Boys

Toy retailer Hamleys has scrapped its separate floors for boys and girls as well as pink and blue labelling of its products. The new in-store signs now state what type of toys are sold on each floor, with toys aimed at both girls and boys mixed together. According to the toy store, these distinctions have been dropped in order to improve customer flow.

Previously the girls’ floor in Hamleys was a “sea of pink” with fluffy animals, cookery sets and beauty-related toys, whereas the boys’ had blue signs with cars, spaceships, science sets and construction toys. However, the Guardian has pointed to a study by Professor Melissa Hines at Cambridge University, which concluded that children under the age of two have no color preference, with both sexes preferring pinker tones. This suggests that socialization is the cause of associating blue with boys and pink with girls, while this might not be their preference.

Hamleys seems to have concluded that labelling products blue and pink doesn’t necessarily help consumers find the toys they’re looking for, and identifying the type of toy is more useful. A spokesman for the retailer said:

Customers… told us how confusing the signage was. The signs have been changed for a big refit that is starting on January 16.

This has raised the question of what other in-store distinctions could be removed to further simplify and enhance the consumer experience.

Hamleys