Disney on How To Do Retail

 by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 15, 2021

 

Brick-and-mortar retail faces big challenges. That’s not news. It’s simply reality. The question is: How to make in-person retail viable in an era of ever-expanding e-commerce? And dare I ask: What about actually growing brick-and-mortar businesses?

 

For many experts, analysts, entrepreneurs and CEOs, part of the answer lies with turning a trip to the store into an “experience” for consumers.

The Walt Disney Company buys into this line of thinking. While beefing up its ShopDisney.com efforts, the company announced in early March of this year that it would be closing 20 percent of its brick-and-mortar stores this year. 

 

Is that surprising? No. Visiting Disney Stores has been anything but an “experience” in recent times – often feeling more like stopping in at a KB Toys store that happens to be filled with only Disney products. And that’s not a good thing. KB went out of business in 2009.

 

However, that most certainly doesn’t mean that Disney is stepping back from brick-and-mortar shopping. Just stop at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World to see retail done right.

 

This place truly is an experience, as Disney Springs is populated by unique and interesting stores, and a wide array of eating and drinking establishments. Among my shopping favorites are the World of Disney, both the Star Wars Galactic Outpost and the Star Wars Trading Post, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Chapel Hats, and the Marketplace Co-Op.

As for food and beverages, count me in at The BOATHOUSE (including The BOATHOUSE Boutique), Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, D-Luxe Burger, The Polite Pig, Amorette’s Patisserie, and Chicken Guy! And yes, there are more establishments that look appealing but I have not sampled … yet. 

 

For good measure, there’s live entertainment sprinkled throughout. I caught some nice outdoor jazz music on a recent visit. And I have yet to ride Aerophile – The World Leader in Balloon Flight or the Vintage Amphicar at The BOATHOUSE. But each is on the list.

And then there is the matter of theming, or the retail environment, with Disney Springs taking inspiration from various locales in Florida, with water and walking bridges abounding. 

 

And of course, there are plenty of unique, exciting shopping experiences spread throughout Disney’s theme parks. Most recently, Disney announced that the new Creations Shop will be opening at EPCOT this summer. Note how the store was described:

 

“Our goal is for Creations Shop to be more than a place to pick up a memento of your time at EPCOT – we want your every moment with us to be an experience worthy of the park’s vision and tradition. The products you’ll find here will extend Disney storytelling and allow you to bring that experience home with you, all while encouraging you to explore your own expressiveness and creativity.”

 

There’s that word “experience” … twice.

 

Some will respond: “Yeah, that’s great. That’s Walt Disney World. Most other stores are not located in or near a major theme park.” 

 

True. But the lifeblood of brick-and-mortar retail is being sucked away. It’s a crisis that requires a reinvention of retail. To understate matters, a clean, shiny mall is not enough. That means making investments to present unique products store by store, but also transforming entire shopping centers and malls into entertainment experiences. Here’s another case where what Disney has accomplished in places like Disney Springs and inside the parks themselves can provide lessons to entrepreneurs, businesses and investors across the retail universe.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the  Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And pre-order the 15^th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story.

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

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