Disney 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, the company said Wednesday.
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.
Consumers have been moving to digital shopping over physical locations, and chains including Walmart Inc and Macy’s Inc have shuttered brick-and-mortar stores. The global coronavirus pandemic accelerated that change when people were forced to stay home.
This move is meant to capitalize on consumers’ embrace of online shopping and address what shoppers “expect from a retailer,” said Stephanie Young, president, consumer products games and publishing, in a statement.
“Over the past few years, we’ve been focused on meeting consumers where they are already spending their time, such as the expansion of Disney store shop-in-shops around the world,” Young said. “We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected e-commerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises.”
This won’t affect more than 600 Disney Parks stores and other locations, including Disney stores inside Target stores.
