Honest question that I don't know the answer to: This is the approach Disney took with their stores, how did that work out for them?
I have a hunch that most of the retail businesses will transition to online in next 10-20 years and all the current retail spaces, especially the malls, would be repurposed into entertainment+place to gather such as restaurants, games, private cinema booths, party places, making spaces, painting places etc. The brick-and-mortar places that stores goods for selling would be fairly odd concept in one or two generations.
Great points. As a parent of two small kids, though, I'd much prefer that the entertainment NOT be attached to a Toys-R-Us, as that would more or less obligate me to buy a toy every time I went (good luck getting out of a TRU with a little kid without buying something.)
The local mall already has a few paint/build/create spots for little kids, so I can see the transition you mention happening already.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2014/09/10/magical-makeov...
Is this a common thing?