Toys R Us Dumps Coremetrics
Toys R Us Inc. has severed its relationship with Coremetrics, and online market research and analytics firm, amid pressure from two class action lawsuits and one online privacy group.
Coremetrics, San Diego, CA, was allegedly tracking and compiling customer information and site browsing activity at Toyrus.com and giving that information to third parties in direct conflict with the toy retailer’s privacy policy, according to court documents.
Coremetrics has said that it is “contractually prohibited from making the data it collects for clients available to third parties.”
Two class action lawsuits were filed in August against Toys R Us, Toysrus.com, and Coremetrics. (See DIRECT Newsline Aug.4, “Privacy Violations Suits Filed Against Toy ‘R’ Us, Others.)
The first, filed by a New Jersey law firm, seeks damages on behalf of individuals that had made purchases between Aug. 5, 1998, and the present. The second suit, filed in San Bernardino District of the Superior Court of California, seeks damages for those who visited the site since June 1, 1998.
The actions came on the heels of a complaint by online security firm Interhack Corp., which alleged in a statement at its Web site that Toysrus.com and its newly launched babiesrus.com, lucy.com and fusion.com were providing data to Coremetrics in violation of privacy guidelines. Coremetrics called Interhack’s allegation “highly speculative and misleading.”
