Trader Joe’s made mainstream news this week with its interesting customer experience for kids. The store chain confirmed it hides stuffed animals in some of its stores.
The plushies are hidden somewhere on the shelves in a given store. And not every Trader Joe’s store has one. And also they move from time to time to different places.
“Now, I cannot say that there is one in every single store, but in general, stores typically have one,” Kendra Friend-Daniel, PR director at Trader Joe’s told The Kitchn. “It’s a way to engage with kids in our store. If they locate the hidden stuffed toy, they just let a Crew Member know and they’ll receive a treat. The type of stuffed toy and treat may vary store to store, but for example, in my local Trader Joe’s there’s a hidden penguin and when my daughters locate it, they receive a lollipop.”
Each stuffed animal also dons a Crew Memeber at Trader Joe’s label. Kids don’t get to keep the stuffed animals as the plushies are viewed as store employees. But they can interact with them and receive small prizes for finding them in the stores.
A research by People.com shows that the initiative has actually been running for some time. At least since 2014. And while it may seem that now people will search for them all the time, finding the plushies isn’t that easy. For one, they constantly change spots. And two, sometimes they aren’t in the store at all. So, it’s something that could mostly happen by chance.
