You will need a shop with very little to no competition nearby, fantastic scenery, and guests who are in a fantastic mood as they are passing by. To achieve this, you will need to meet some high demands. However, a well-placed shop can make 2-3 times it's operating cost, and a very well-placed shop can cover the costs of operating other nearby scenery, special effects, and possibly even rides. Just make sure they are all selling from different categories.Ī shop can easily make a couple hundred dollars per month if there is at least 1 ride nearby. a food shop will not disrupt the business of the drink shop next door), so a small building with a couple shops won't hurt. This seems to be mainly categorical (i.e. For those general shoppers, they will just go to the nearest food shop and once they eat, one shop makes money, and all the others don't. Some guests will crave a hamburger specifically, but others will just crave food in general. While it may be effective to place shops of different categories slightly near one another, setting a Hotdog Squad right next to a Chief Beef disrupts business for both shops. Guest AI is prone to purchase things when they are happy about their experience, but that feeling will quickly die if they are not even able to purchase anything.Ĭompetition While similar shops in the same location may seem like a great idea, it's not. Shops not only satisfy your parks need for money, they also satisfy the guests need to spend it. If you decide against placing too many shops because either because you don't want to manage them, or just don't want to build buildings around them, you will notice a sharp decline in guests. Shops are all about keeping guests taken care of. They also count towards a substantial portion of your theme parks monthly income. They satisfy the needs of guests just as they would in real life. Shops are an integral part of any working theme park.