Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s Well Positioned for Holiday Season

Like many department stores across the country, Macy’s Inc.’s units including its namesake and Bloomingdale’s brand are experimenting with new formats to meet evolving consumer preferences. An analysis by Placer.ai said both chains are well-positioned to capitalize on surges in holiday shopping to close out 2024 and potentially drive future growth,

Last year, Macy’s Inc. closed about 30% of its traditional department store locations and expanded its small format model, while also adding more Bloomingdale’s locations. The focus on the expansion of Bloomingdale’s appears to be well timed as foot traffic has generally increased at the high-end retail locations during the first half of 2024, according to placer.ai. Foot traffic dipped three times during that period. Placer.ai said a decline in January was likely due to inclement weather that impacted retailers nationwide, while lower foot traffic in April was attributable to the month having four weekends rather than five as in 2023. And while foot traffic was down 1.5% in July at Bloomingdale’s locations, the chain continued to draw more visits than in 2023.

On the other hand, Macy’s locations had slower foot traffic through April but closed the gap in May and June, recording higher traffic than in 2023. Similar to Bloomingdale’s locations, Macy’s locations also experienced a decline in traffic in July but rallied to higher levels than 2023 during the second half of the month buoyed by back-to-school shopping and sales.

The company’s revitalization strategy has been effective at diversifying the range of options available for a variety of different shoppers, the analysis said. For example, Bloomingdale’s, which is more luxury-focused targeting affluent shoppers, attracted visitors from areas with the highest median household income of the three brands – $122,000, which is well above the nationwide average of $76,100.

By contrast, Macy’s shoppers came from areas with a median household income of $82,400, a population that may be more impacted by inflation-driven cutbacks. Visitors to Macy’s 13 small-format stores came from areas with a median household income of $78,500, just above the nationwide baseline. By expanding its small-format footprint, Macy’s may succeed at increasing its draw among more average-income shoppers, the report said.