As the post pandemic world of trade adjusts to the ‘new normal’, Disney have announced their plans to reduce brick and mortar sites across their global portfoilio of Disney Stores starting with 60 locations in North America and shifting their focus to e-commerce.
Disney said Wednesday that it will close 20% of its brick-and-mortar Disney Store locations before the end of the year as part of a bigger focus on its e-commerce business.
At least 60 of its North American locations will close, the company said, citing changing consumer behaviors and a desire to link its online shopping experience to its Disney Parks apps and social media platforms. There are about 300 Disney Stores worldwide.
The pandemic has accelerated the shift away from physical stores to digital shopping by about five years, according to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index. Industry-wide e-commerce sales jumped 32.4% to $791.7 billion in 2020, and that figure is only expected to grow.
Disney’s plan is to start by shuttering one-fifth of its Disney Store footprint and then evaluate where other closures may need to take place. The company is looking at Europe, in particular, as a place to make significant reductions.
