Orlando, Thursday, 2 October 2025.
Universal Orlando’s permanent closure of the On Location gift shop in January signalled a deliberate shrinkage of the onsite retail footprint with direct implications for merchandise capture and guest flow. Retail planners should note the most intriguing fact: the closure coincided with a CityWalk dining refurbishment, suggesting a coordinated short-term diversion of F&B spend while Universal tests redistribution of retail demand. For operators, that raises immediate questions about SKU rationalization, the balance between permanent stores and pop-ups, and how to recapture impulse purchases formerly tied to attraction entry points. Expect shifts toward integrated merchandise experiences, greater reliance on omnichannel fulfilment, and targeted redeployment of staff to higher-yield locations. Monitoring subsequent Universal announcements will be critical to understand whether capital will prioritise experiential F&B and attraction tie‑ins over traditional retail square footage, and how capture-rate metrics and dwell-time analytics will be used to optimise assortments and store formats across the resort.