Growing Retail Sales Inside an Indoor Playground

1. Retail Isn’t “Extra”—It Can Be a Major Revenue Stream if Treated Strategically

Many indoor playground owners treat retail like a decorative add-on. A few shelves here, a little peg wall there, and maybe some impulse items at checkout.

But for Justine, retail is not an afterthought—it’s a fully developed profit center.

Here’s what that looks like:

Her original retail footprint was literally a small corner she filled with borrowed inventory just to avoid empty shelves.
As soon as she expanded into the unit next door, she dedicated about one-third of her entire new space to retail.
Last December—before expanding the boutique—25% of her total revenue came from retail and gift purchases.
She now consistently rotates display pieces, updates collections, and introduces seasonal finds.

Parents consistently tell her, “You always have something new,” which creates repeat browsing behavior. That is the hallmark of a healthy retail program.

Takeaway: If thoughtfully executed, retail can be a predictable revenue driver instead of a nice-to-have.

2. You Don’t Need to Start Big: Begin With What You Can Manage and Grow Into Demand

One of the most encouraging parts of Justine’s story is how modestly she started.

When she first opened:

Retail was a single corner with a handful of items.
She didn’t have thousands of dollars to put into inventory.
She wasn’t even sure which products her customers would gravitate toward.

So she:

Accepted loaned inventory from a trusted local toy store (and paid as it sold).
Experimented with a small variety of vendors and categories.
Brought in new products only after existing stock proved itself.

When she expanded the space, then she expanded her buying.

This approach meant:

Zero debt tied to inventory.
Products were chosen based on data, not guesswork.
Retail didn’t become an overwhelming responsibility before she had systems.

Takeaway: Start with small bites of inventory and scale up only when demand proves itself.

3. Local Consignment Is a Secret Weapon—If You Build Clear Systems Around It

Most play spaces either ignore local makers or struggle to manage them. But Justine has built a consignment system so clean and repeatable that it now runs seamlessly.

Here’s how she makes it work:

Her Structure

50% of her boutique inventory comes from local businesses.
Vendors get 60% of sales.
Her business keeps 40% to cover credit card fees, merchandising labor, theft risk, and exposure to her high-traffic space.

Her Non-Negotiables

She only works with vendors who:

Have their own packaging (no loose or unbranded items).
Have a business social media presence, not a personal Facebook account.
Tag and label their own items—she does not enter product info for them.
Agree to accept payments via Zelle so she can stay organized at month-end.

Her Monthly Flow

She prints Square reports sorted by vendor category.
Screenshots each vendor’s total sales.
Pays all vendors in one batch at the start of each month.

Why It Works So Well

Vendors get exposure in a high-traffic, family-friendly environment without any upfront fee.
She avoids tying up cash in more inventory than she needs.
Her boutique looks full, varied, and fresh with minimal financial risk.

Takeaway: With the right boundaries and systems, local consignment can massively expand your product offering while protecting your cash flow.

4. Choose Vendors With Packaging That Holds Up in a High-Traffic Environment

Retail inside a play space is wildly different from retail inside a traditional gift shop.

Toddlers:

grab everything
chew on silicone
drop packaging
get crumbs and sticky fingers on displays

So Justine considers packaging just as important as the product.

Brands that work well for her:

Earth Grown Kids Dough – Their beautifully packaged dough kits in hard plastic cases sell at $24 and hold up extremely well.
Baby Bliss – Fully sealed silicone teethers, bowls, spoons, and pacifier clips.
Learning Resources + Melissa & Doug – Durable pretend play and educational toys.
Fat Brain (SpinAgain) – One of her top sellers, and the packaging is built for display longevity.
Tub Works – A newer vendor with great packaging and strong reviews.

Brands she typically avoids:

Anything with:
- unsealed silicone
- easily crushed boxes
- flimsy trays
- no branding or poor labeling

Takeaway: A product must be attractive and resilient if it’s going to survive a day on the shelf in a toddler-heavy environment.

5. Healthy Retail Requires Healthy Margins

Many owners stock products because they seem cute or on-brand…but then have no real margin left after taxes, payment processing, and shrinkage.

Justine aims for a 50% retail margin across the board.

If a vendor only offers 30–40%, she passes unless it’s truly a must-have.
Local vendors get 60%, but that still keeps margins high enough since she doesn’t have inventory risk.

This strategy means:

She isn’t stocking low-margin “busy boxes” or boutique items that don’t pull their weight.
She can run promotions without losing money.
Retail remains profitable even after labor, theft, and expenses.

Takeaway: Retail is only worth doing if it’s profitable. Avoid low-margin products unless they have a strategic purpose.

6. Thoughtful Merchandising Dramatically Impacts Sales

Justine’s retail area looks like a curated children’s boutique—not an afterthought—and that’s because she uses real merchandising strategy.

A few of her approaches:

Rotating Displays

Instead of rebuilding displays constantly, she often rotates the direction of a display or fixture.

This makes returning customers say “Oh, this is new!” even when the products are the same.
It keeps the boutique visually stimulating without major effort.

Using Flexible Fixtures

She relies on:

pegboards
grid walls
movable racks
versatile shelving

These allow her to:

switch layouts seasonally
highlight new products
adjust displays as inventory sells down

Strategic Photography Spots

She takes most of her product photos in front of her rainbow mural, which:

provides consistent lighting
signals “this is from Liv and Mimi’s”
creates brand cohesion across channels

Takeaway: Smart merchandising increases perceived value and inspires more customers to browse—and buy.

7. Partnerships and Collaborations Can Reduce Risk and Increase Traffic

One of the most underrated strategies Justine uses is partnering with other small businesses.

Two standout examples:

1. Wholesale order sharing

For brands with high minimums (like Fat Brain), she splits orders with a local toy store.

This lets her:

access premium brands
maintain a curated inventory
avoid holding $700 worth of one line of products

2. Pickup location collaborations

A local baker uses Liv and Mimi’s as a pickup spot for holiday boxes.

This gives Justine:

extra foot traffic
exposure to new demographics
spontaneous retail sales
added community value

And she:

doesn’t handle the money
only allows pickups during business hours
has zero obligations outside those terms

Takeaway: Creative collaborations expand your reach and reduce your risk without increasing your workload.

8. Online Retail Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated—Your POS Might Already Do the Heavy Lifting

Justine put off online retail because she thought it would be:

expensive
tedious
time-consuming

Then she discovered Square’s inventory system already had everything she needed.

She toggled items to be “available online.”
She uploaded clean product photos—most pulled straight from Faire.
She turned on local pickup.

Within a day, her boutique had a working online store.

Now parents can:

shop from the couch
purchase party add-on gifts from home
grab retail purchases at drop-off for classes or during open play

Takeaway: If your POS already contains your inventory, you may be one toggle away from online retail.

9. Email Marketing Has Become a Non-Negotiable

Justine resisted email marketing for a long time, even though she had over 1,000 email addresses collected.

But she eventually learned:

Many customers aren’t on social media
Events were getting missed
Social platforms are unstable
Selling is serving when you’re hosting valuable events

Now she:

Sends at least one newsletter per month
Gives email subscribers first access to events
Uses email to highlight retail, promotions, and seasonal offers
Sees direct revenue tied to email marketing

After seeing how many people were missing out because they weren’t online, email became a core part of her communication rather than an afterthought.

Takeaway: Your email list is an asset you own. Social media is not.

10. Standardizing Your Party Setup Makes Delegation Possible

Before expanding, Justine’s parties involved:

rearranging tables
moving fencing
improvising décor setups
resetting the layout between events

This prevented her from stepping back.

After expanding:

Party tables never move from their designated spots
Décor goes on a single grid wall with pre-installed hooks
Balloon garlands use a standard formula: six bundles of six balloons
Supplies are stored consistently
Every team member knows the exact flow

This consistency allows her staff to run parties independently, which:

reduces burnout
increases availability
boosts revenue
protects work-life balance

Takeaway: If every party is different, you’ll never be able to step out of the weeds.

11. You Can’t Be Everywhere—Staffing Is Essential for Growth and Sanity

Like many owners, Justine initially tried to do everything herself.

But after a few months she realized:

The business was limited by her availability
She couldn’t host events when her husband was working
Vacations or sick days meant shutting down operations
Burnout was unavoidable

Now she has:

Four employees
A reliable manager who lives across the street
Coverage for mornings, parties, and peak times

Her new mindset:

“My business cannot run on me alone. It isn’t sustainable.”

Takeaway: For long-term success, staffing is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.

12. Build a Support System—Inside and Outside the Business

Justine credits:

her husband
her employees
her manager
her local vendor collaborators
and the Play Maker Society community

…with helping her survive and thrive during the first two years.

She said joining Play Maker Society was a turning point because she finally had:

a safe place to ask questions
a community of other owners
people who understood the emotional and operational realities
access to shared solutions and resources

Being able to talk to others who “get it” made the harder seasons feel manageable and the wins feel even stronger.

Takeaway: No owner thrives in isolation. Support systems are fuel.

Justine’s journey with Liv and Mimi’s Play Cafe is an incredible example of:

strategic retail
sustainable operational growth
clear boundaries with vendors
leveraging community partnerships
letting go of perfectionism and control
building a business that can run without the owner
using email and online retail to increase sales
designing systems that work at scale

If you want to grow your retail sales—or expand your business without burning out—this episode offers a blueprint worth studying.

And if you want help applying these lessons inside your own play-based business, we'd love to welcome you inside of Play Cafe Academy and Play Maker Society!