How Disney Parks Elevate The Park Shopping Experience

Iconic in the realm of theme parks, Disney’s global resorts are known for more than just their thrilling rides and enchanting characters. One crucial aspect that significantly impacts the Disney park experience and profitability is its emphasis on retail and exclusive merchandise.

Disney parks are all about comprehensive experiences, and retail outlets play a vital role in enhancing guest satisfaction. These outlets, with their meticulously themed merchandising, provide guests with tangible memories of their visit. From customized lightsabers at “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge” to Elsa dresses from “Frozen”, these items enable guests of all ages to take a piece of the Disney park magic home.

Jean-David Marque is the Director Merchandise and Retail of Disneyland Paris and has a passion for ensuring that the merchandise taken home by his guests is something that will be treasured not regretted.

“Our guests really want to extend their experience and our job is to translate that feeling and need into products. Successful merchandise is a mix of getting three things right: 1. Who is the guest (eg demograpic, tastes) 2. What is the Disney experience (a parade, a ride, a character encounter) and 3. What’s happening in the company right now (eg what movie is being released – what is the new story).”

In addition to admissions, retail sales act as a critical revenue stream for the park, sustaining and expanding its vast infrastructure.

Just before the company celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 16 (with a special collection of merchandise to mark the occasion, naturally) the Walt Disney
DIS
Co. announced a near doubling of investment in the ‘Parks, Experiences and Products’ segment of the business to almost $60 billion over the next decade

This investment will see the business expand and enhance its domestic and international parks and cruise line capacity. Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the business was “incredibly mindful” of its financial underpinning and a focus on bottom line growth.

Interestingly as part of the announcement, the company highlighted the opportunity to reach approximately 700 million people globally that Disney would describe as “fans” but that had never visited a Disney amusement park.

With every new visit brings a fresh opportunity for merchandise sales and despite the reality of the global economic woes, Disney has experienced consumers holding back spend – indeed quite the opposite.

Jean-David Marque explains: “The quality of the moment the guest experiences holds a lot of value to them” and guests have continued to remember that through merchandise, “it has been the best year for the Disneyland Paris park and our merchandise lines.”

Strategically placed retail outlets also encourage guests to extend their stays, often offering an oasis of calm away from the busier attractions. The retail outlets range from strategically placed carts offering pick-ups such as rain-ponchos and Mickey Ears, through to artistically imagined stores, fully themed to create a fully immersive experience. Jean- David Marque highlights the importance of the attention to detail in these store environments: “One of the reason guests come back to the parks, is whether you visit an attraction, a restaurant or a store – there is a story being told. It can actually limit us from a merchandise point of view, there might be items that I want to sell that just wouldn’t work within the story. But we see the appreciation to that commitment it in guests’ comments, they love the way the stores look, indeed some customers remark its their favourite bit.”

This can be seen with the recently announced exclusive ‘attraction’ themed merchandise to celebrate legacy rides such as The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain, “it’s a small world,” and Pirates of the Caribbean. Disneyland Resort Paris also celebrates a unique set of attractions that including the Phantom Manor and La Tanière du Dragon. Products range from the collectable Spirit jerseys and Loungefly backpacks through to unique items that fit with the attractions story. The Phantom Manor collection includes a keepsake sign for the manor and gothic style candle holders and prices start from €8.

The acquisition of major IPs like Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar has further expanded Disney’s retail possibilities in park as well as with strategic partnerships and alliances.

Increasingly, sustainability is becoming a crucial consideration for guests. As part of its 30th Anniversary celebrations, Disneyland Paris opened the immersive Marvel Avengers Campus land and renovated the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.

The castle was covered with a tarp during the renovation works which was a full size image of the castle. Working together with BILUM, an Ile de France-based SMB that specializes in upcycling tarps and other materials to create unique leather goods, Disneyland Paris has recycled that tarp to create a one-of-a-kind collection.

Available at The Storybook Store, on Main Street U.S.A over 2300 pieces including tote bags, duffel bags and pouches went on sale last month. Each piece has been handmade in France, and of course each has a unique and exclusive design. This will be the perfect opportunity to acquire items that celebrate both the art and history of Disneyland Paris through its iconic Castle that is so admired by guests.

This initiative is just part of Disneyland Paris’ commitment to reducing waste, protecting resources, and supporting the local economy. Since 2018 in the Disney Fashion store which is part of the Disney Village, there is a small section dedicated to recommerce where guests can browse and buy vintage memorabilia.

As a point of difference with the Disney American parks, Paris stopped offering plastic bags in 2019 and promote only reusable, recycled carriers. Jean-David Marque also confirmed that most of the theme-park merchandise textiles are made in Europe.

Masters at capitalising on the opportunity of time limited events, seasonal celebrations and anniversaries, special edition merchandise appeals to avid collectors and creates a sense of urgency to buy: miss it, miss out.

As part of Disney100 celebrations the brand announced a partnership between Marvel and iconic French shoe designer, Christian Louboutin. The limited capsule collection of footwear and accessories for women, men, and children celebrates the Marvel Infinity Stones.

In addition, for the first time ever, Marvel has introduced global fashion designer, Christian Louboutin as a Super Hero. The collaboration originated from Christian Louboutin’s lifelong admiration for Marvel and colourful creativity.

From designer shoes to pocket-money toys, Disney merchandise is available for sale all over the world at all levels of retail including giants of value including Primark, Target
TGT
and Walmart
WMT
. Jean-David Marque is keen to highlight that the retail partners cause no concern for the in-park retail sales which he predicts will continue to grow just as guest numbers do.

Disney has skillfully honed the art of capturing the essence of the moment, crafting indelible memories that are seamlessly intertwined with their retail offerings. The merchandise available is not merely a product; it is an extension of the brand’s storytelling and enchantment, continually enhanced to elevate the customer experience. Just as there is a Disney character for everyone, there seems to be a selection of merchandise to suit every taste too and as Disney continues to evolve and grow its global park offerings, retail will undoubtedly remain a core strategy in delivering immersive experiences and driving profitability and now celebrating 100 years – l’histoire d’une marque animée et enchantée.