The problem is the solution: WandaVision quotes and lessons
The world, whether it's Marvel Comic Universe or our own, has infinite characters with storylines that overlap, contradict, and evolve.
“Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.”
– Walt Disney
Long before customer experience became the rage, Walt Disney espoused the importance of it in everything that he created.
His successors are following his lead, announcing this week that they are adding a new and improved online shopping experience and interactive, personalized experiences in redesigned stores. The multi-pronged effort was launched to boost the profits of their retail consumer product division, which have fallen, as have the bottom lines of so many other brick and mortar retailers.
Let it go: Stand-alone retail is over
While online retail seems like a given in the digital age, Disney has long resisted the trend of e-commerce, instead offering a only a small selection of items online. The strategy was to drive consumers to the parks or retail outlets. For a very long time, this model worked, but as consumers have become more sophisticated, so have their expectations—including their ability to access whatever they’d like, whenever they’d like.
Coupled with a remodeling of their physicals stores, the online makeover means a myriad of new products will now be available to the at-home Disney fanatic.
Carefully curated collections by Coach, David Lerner, and Ethan Allen furniture now grace their e-commerce catalog, and those products will also be sold in the stores, making a complete omnichannel experience for the consumer.
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Reimagining the magic of the customer experience
True to Disney fashion, no detail has been overlooked. The revamping of their brick and mortar stores includes melding the interactive experiences of their parks with their physical locations. In-store shoppers can battle Darth Vader on a big screen and even purchase cotton candy and the iconic mouse ears from carts that are the same as those found in Disneyland and Disney World.
Guests visiting Disney stores will see live streams of the multiple theme parks, fireworks displays on giant screens, and get personalized experiences for children, including birthday parties and other milestone celebrations. Even the coveted apparel at The Dress Shop has become available for online purchases.
“Many analysts predict that 2017 will be the year of the customer as consumers continue to call the shots, said Shane Finaly of SAP, “That requires retailers to follow their lead – and keep pace with customers through personalized engagement.”
All that’s left is to pipe in the (truly delightful) scent you can only breathe in while gawking at Cinderella’s Castle on the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street, USA.
By creating seamless transitions between their parks, stores, and online offerings, Disney is acknowledging the desires of a 24/7/365 economy. And, if the brand can marry the physical retail experience with their online efforts in the same way they have approached customer engagement on the ground in the parks, they cannot lose.
The era of multichannel is here to stay. Disney has been considered the standard-bearer when it comes to customer experience. Once upon a time, it was enough to offer their unique experiences only in-person, but not anymore. No amount of magic can transform a bottom line that doesn’t recognize the power of digital.
