Macy’s prioritizes online sales, thinks smaller shops

Macy’s will bet big on online sales this holiday season and will also move away from malls into smaller outlets.

Melissa Fares and Nivedita Balu reported the news for Reuters:

Macy’s Inc (M.N) will drastically change how it does business this holiday season, executives said on Wednesday, placing a sharper focus on online sales and promoting more beauty and home items to shoppers opting to stay home due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

Shares of the largest U.S. department store operator rose as much as 11% after it reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and beat sales estimates as shoppers bought more activewear, shoes and handbags on its app and website during the pandemic. They were up about 4% in late morning trading.

Lauren Thomas from CNBC wrote:

“We continue to believe that the best malls in the country will thrive,” CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts Wednesday. “However, we also know that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s have high potential [off]-mall and in smaller formats.” 

He said the department store chain is planning to test several smaller Macy’s stores outside of malls, as well as a Bloomingdale’s store off-mall. It is also still looking to grow its off-price business through Macy’s Backstage. 

In February, before the pandemic, Macy’s announced plans to shut 125 stores over the next three years. Gennette said Wednesday those plans have not changed, but added that Macy’s is monitoring its competition closely and may adjust its store closure timeline.