Disnification

Hybrid Consumption

Consumption in today’s world has become a complicated process. There is no 1 type of consumption but rather a combination of various consumption methods jumbled together. If we take a good look at the Disney model, we realise that that their theme parks are full of shops and restaurants to the extent that their main purpose has become from providing attractions riders to selling a variety of goods and food.

Simply to say, the model is just a facade used as a venue to sell products that are unrelated.

Japan’s shopping malls are tailored towards these be having theme parks and other leisure facilities build in their location or even next to them. Taking a good look at some of the shopping malls, we have:

·        Mitsui Outlet Park ( Sendai Port )

This facility was the first genuine outlet mall in the Tohoku Region. Mitsui Outlet Park Sendaiko boasts the largest shop area in the Tohoku Region and 120 stores. The facility is designed to represent the port and city of Sendai. The simple and easy to navigate facility interior forms a wide and open mall atmosphere. The 50m tall Ferris Wheel allows panoramic views of Sendai Port, and at night is lit up for everyone's enjoyment. 

At the Event Stage you can see street performances and live music- adding to the many enjoyments of the Outlet Mall outside of shopping. Matsushima, one of the three Scenic Treasures of Japan, is only 20 minutes by car from the Outlet Mall. Also, near this facility are large-scale event halls and exhibition areas, as well as a home improvement center, a large electronics store, and a large furniture store. This concentration of commercial facilities makes it a very popular area.

·        Mitsui Outlet Park ( Jazz Dream Nagashima )

Taking advantage of its location in a planned development at the mouth of the Kiso River, Jazz Dream is an evocation of New Orleans, which is similarly located at the delta end of the Mississippi River in the U.S., and the town is designed around the strange dreams of an imaginary New Orleans jazz musician named Buddy. With its motifs based on the places in Buddy's dream--the jazz clubs and music halls, Mardi Gras and Mississippi steamboats--Jazz Dream provides an atmosphere of fun and celebration that is more theme park than outlet mall. Adjacent to Nagashima Spa Land and its amusement park rides and hot springs, this mall is part of a full-day family experience.

If we look at the above examples of shopping malls, the thing they have in common is their proximity to leisure activity such as a Ferris wheel or a spa. Do these have anything to do with shopping? One may wonder.

Another example would be how airports are being turned into mini-malls. As we all know, airports are a place for us to board or alight from planes. As simple as that, yet it sounds far from this basic fact.

Narita Internation Airport serves as a good example of this. It houses many shops and restaurants and provides a range of amenities like dentist, hair salons and even a pet hotel.

It is not so much about shopping but a one single stop for everything you want and need. The rationale behind hybrid consumption is that ‘’the more needs you fulfill, the longer people stay’’. That is, generating revenue is proportional to the number of needs that you can fulfill. Thus, leisure facilities are taking advantage of this principle to include a wide range of services and amenities that can increase their profits in all for once.

Sources:

http://www.31op.com/english/index.html#jazz

http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/index.html

http://www.stockimagesonline.net/Travel/Japan/Yokohama/IMG9376/549671448_G2axT-M-1.jpg 

http://blog.japanican.com/en/staffblog/images_mt/rie/mitsui-outlet%20sendaiport_15.jpg

http://www.vjy2010.jp/common/photo/J00554A1.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/3rd_floor_of_Narita_Terminal_2_200507.jpg