The Market at Macy’s brings a revolving door of designer brands

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

NEW YORK — In the age of e-commerce, brickand-mortar retail is all about creating engaging experiences for customers in hopes of keeping them coming back for more. For Macy’s, one of its latest experiments is an in-store pop-up shop called The Market featuring a revolving door of established and emerging brands.

Timed with New York Fashion Week, the concept launched in high style Saturday at the Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square with giveaways, a DJ, photo booth and more. It also rolled out over the weekend at nine other Macy’s locations nationwide, including the one in Pittsburgh’s Ross ParkMall.

In New York City, The Market is situated near Macy’s 34th Street at Seventh Avenue entrance. While some pop-up shops are set up to be just that — a makeshift shop, or room, within an existing storefront — this one is laid out like any other department in the store, although ample signage helps set it apart.

What’s clever about this initiative is that it strives to cater to a range of shoppers — embellished handbags by Bebe and flowing frocks by Sylk for women; shaving cream kits by Bevel for men; graphic tees for kids inspired by the new “Peter Rabbit” film, etc. Other highlights are intricate pop-up cards by lovepop and an interactive station where people can design their own custom shoe insoles and have them 3-D printed on site by RESA. Brands will be mixed in and out every few months and may vary from store to store.

Beyond hopefully enticing shoppers to return, the other goal of The Market is to provide brands with a low-commitment, turn-key opportunity to gain exposure.(Brands can apply to be considered for The Market atthemarketatmacys.com.)

The introduction of The Market comes as Macy’s works to recover from a lackluster holiday shopping season with only a 1 percent rise in comparable store sales. The department store chain plans to shutter nearly a dozen stores and potentially cut 5,000 jobs.