Disney Store Makes Digital Magic
Carol Spieckerman covers eTail West
How can a beloved and iconic brand maintain an emotional connection with its customers, even as it powers through an ambitious omni-channel transformation? In her presentation at eTail West, Disney Stores' VP of ecommerce and marketing, Elissa Margolis, outlined how Disney Store is driving a uniquely Disney experience across multiple touch points.
Elissa Margolis, VP Ecommerce & Marketing, Disney Stores
(LinkedIn image)
Thanks to its highly-developed licensing programs, the Disney brand is ubiquitous in retail. By comparison, its Disney Store division represents a smaller piece of the corporate pie, yet, according to Margolis, its customers view shopping in its stores as the next best thing to visiting one of its theme parks. With an eye on making its digital kingdom just as magical as its physical fiefdom, Disney began to build on a previous, functionality-focused redesign in 2010.
Disney Store's redesigned website
The "experience principles" and key considerations that guided the project from the onset included:
- Don't let technology break the spell.
- Convey Disney's specialty retail premise online.
- Craft a distinctly Disney personality.
- Make it about the guest.
- Follow a "franchise-first" philosophy that emphasizes storytelling.
Through interviews with guests and visits to their homes, Disney gained a number of insights. They learned that some moms are driven by efficiency and a desire to check items off of lists, while others are motivated by their deep connection with Disney and a desire for their kids to enjoy experiences like their own. Changes that had initially been reduced in priority, such as the ability to sort items by color in non-apparel categories, were determined to be important to customers.
Additional changes focused on aesthetics and content, including emphasizing lifestyle photography, enhancing zoom features, and even evolving copy to correspond with how a "cast member" (store associate) would speak to a guest. For example, the phrase "product details" was changed to "the magic is in the details."
To replicate the anticipation associated with a Disney Store visit, a new feature allows guests to record personalized videos for gift-giving occasions. Gift recipients first receive an e-mail confirming that something special is on the way, and then a personal URL included inside of their gift card takes them to the gift giver's video message. Customer feedback was also heeded regarding its surprise-spoiling gift packaging, which featured character art on the outside. Gifts are now sent in plain brown boxes.
At checkout, its confirmation order page pulls up content that can transport customers to Disney's network of sister sites and to information on upcoming events, all of which can be shared across social networks. In a complementary strategy, Disney Store associates are encouraged to facilitate online purchases for guests, which can then be shipped to guests' homes.
Disney Store is seeing double-digit growth and increases in guest engagement in the wake of its digital transformation. At the top of Ms. Margolis's list of takeaways is to go beyond the obvious goal of driving conversions and develop and adhere to user experience principles instead.
Read Carol's other E tail West articles:
What Will It Take to Improve the Mobile Shopping Experience?
Retailers Stretch Social Media Strategies
