DEALS IN STORE
Department chains are wooing consumers away from their computer screens with unique offers,
The beleaguered department-store industry in the U.S., facing declining mall traffic and mounting online competition, will need more than Santa Claus to get customers in the door this year.
Retailers such as Macy’s Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. are preparing for the holidays by offering more exclusive products, store-in-store showrooms and — in some cases — cash rewards.
Though department stores like Macy’s were once synonymous with Christmas shopping, the chains are struggling to rekindle excitement heading into Black Friday. The industry hit an unsettling inflection point last year, when more Americans shopped online than in physical stores during the four-day weekend, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
“The problem is there’s no silver bullet,” said Ed Yruma, a retail analyst at Keybanc Capital Markets Inc. “What we’re increasingly seeing is a consumer for a holiday season that’s shopping off a list, and there’s no better way to shop off a list than on your computer.”
The biggest piece of department stores’ strategies is offering merchandise you can’t find anywhere else. But they’re also trying to create more of an experience for shoppers — something that goes beyond the typical window displays, Christmas decorations and a Santa taking requests from kids. Macy’s, the largest department-store company, is emphasizing products that are only available at the store, including exclusive apparel and fragrances. J.C. Penney rolled out appliance showrooms in 500 stores, aiming to take advantage of the holiday season. The chain also is pushing beyond its mainstay in apparel and housewares by expanding into toys.
Belk Inc., a department-store chain concentrated in the South, is offering a new promotion called “Christmas Cash.” The company, owned by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, is giving customers $10 to spend in the store for every $100 in purchases they make during Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Another source of pressure this season: Department stores can’t rely as much on tourist spending. The strong dollar has deterred many foreign visitors from descend- ing on major U.S. cities. And even domestic shoppers are increasingly interested in services, rather than buying physical goods.
That’s contributed to a decline in average mall traffic by 3 per cent to 8 per cent, according to Craig Johnson, head of research firm Customer Growth Partners. Old School “Part of the problem is because the model itself remains old-school: Department stores haven’t materially changed from when R.H. Macy opened his doors in New York,” Johnson said. “So any kind of marketing gimmick or anything like that doesn’t make a huge difference.”
There’s money to be made this holiday season if stores can get the formula right. U.S. consumer purchases will increase 3.6 per cent to $655.8 billion in November and December, excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales, the NRF estimates. The long Thanksgiving weekend accounts for about 15 per cent of holiday sales, according to the trade group.
Holiday-gift shopping is shifting to the web more rapidly. About 56 per cent of consumers want to purchase gifts at online-only retailers, according to a Kantar Retail survey. And more than 50 per cent plan to go specifically to Amazon.com Inc.
Macy’s president Jeff Gennette isn’t worried about having enough people browse the chain’s merchandise. Converting Traffic “The key will be for us to convert — we’ll get the traffic,” he said in an interview this month. Gennette will take over as CEO in the first quarter of 2017.
J.C. Penney is offering its earliest shoppers the most extreme discounts. Customers arriving at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving will have the chance to win coupons for as much as $500 off a purchase of $500 or more.
Specialty shops have also become a bigger threat. Department stores once accounted for as much as 50 per cent of the retail economy, Johnson said. A generation ago, they made up about 10 per cent. Now, they control just 2.7 per cent of retail spending, he said.
“They’re just not as relevant to today’s shoppers as they were to their mothers and grandmothers,” he said. “And yet, there can be a place for them — if you reinvent them from the customer side in.”