- Title: Macy's offers bigger discounts to attract shoppers
- Date: 25th November 2016
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE TO HERALD SQUARE MACY'S STORE WOMAN LOOKING AT MICHAEL KORS BAGS WOMAN WITH MACY'S SIGNATURE SHOPPING BAGS AT A CASHIER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACY'S CEO, TERRY J. LUNDGREN, SAYING: "In order to get people to come back, we had fantastic value in places like the fragrance area. So, we're one of the largest sellers of prestige fragrance anywhere in the world. But we also added a sample kit of $15 to try six different fragrances. That's been a home run for us. We've brought in more plush toys. So, we did a collaboration with a new movie called 'Trolls'. And, so, all this is exclusive to us of what some of the products that we've sold. It's really doing great. And then, for us, the apparel business is good. Finally, we're selling cold weather apparel. So, jackets, and coats, and boots, and then we added technology. So we have the Apple Watches with us, Michael Kors watches are now technology driven. So, all of these are categories that we haven't had, and they are selling very, very well. So, there's a number of new things and interesting consumers into our stores." WIDE PEOPLE WALKING IN THE STORE A COUPLE PAYING FOR MERCHANDISE AT A CASHIER WOMEN LOOKING AT DISCOUNTED MERCHANDISE A COUPLE LOOKING AT COSMETICS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MACY'S CEO, TERRY J. LUNDGREN, SAYING: "What I hope is that the consumer who is in good position for the most part, meaning that savings accounts are a positive at this point, unemployment is really quite low - at 4.9 percent in America - and you're starting to see wages grow and increase. All of that adds up to the consumer feeling better about their current situation, and I'm hoping they release and buy all their gifts from Macy's and all of my stores." WIDE OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT MERCHANDISE WOMAN LOOKING AT COACH BAGS MACY'S WORKER ARRANGING COSMETICS DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARY EPNER RETAIL ANALYSIS CEO, MARY EPNER, SAYING: "Well, judging from last night going to stores into this morning, the consumer has definitely come out. But here he or she is looking for a bargain, a big one at that. If it's apparel, I believe, it's going to be a very deep discount because retailers need to move that merchandise. Now, there are some other items that are still at regular price that customers want. Cosmetics, lingerie, and Adidas in particular." WIDE OF ESCALATOR WITH THANKSGIVING DISPLAYS WOMAN LOOKING AT BAGS PEOPLE WALKING WITH SHOPPING BAGS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARY EPNER RETAIL ANALYSIS CEO, MARY EPNER, SAYING: "I think there is more uncertainty than ever, particularly with the results of the election. We have groups - different ethnicities, different 'like' and 'dislike' groups - and they're uncomfortable. I think when you have twenty million Americans who aren't sure about what's happening with health care, maybe not all of them feel that way, but, when you're concerned then you're not as likely to spend a lot of money. Ditto for other groups who have the same concerns, whether it's about somebody's family deportation or whatever the cause might be. I think those are going to be real concerns for consumers that we haven't faced in prior years." WOMEN LOOKING AT BAGS WITH BURBERRY LOGO BEHIND MERCHANDISE CASHIER SCANNING A MICHAEL KORS BAG WOMEN LOOKING AT WALLETS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK RESIDENT, EVELYN PONCE, SAYING: "I'm finding bargains in the perfumes, you know, makeup, cosmetics, I like it, very good, very good. This year, they better sales than last year." WIDE OF PEOPLE WALKING CASHIER AT A REGISTER SIGN READING (English) 'DOORBUSTER $25 AND UNDER' SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (English) BALTIMORE RESIDENT, JOHN HOLDER, SAYING: "They get, certainly, a lot of people in here. It's a lovely experience for people. It's a good holiday. It's a good way to start the Christmas season, after a good turkey dinner, you know. See, you go to the Macy's Parade yesterday, which we attended the Thanksgiving Day Parade, you come here and shop. And everybody is happy." VARIOUS OF MACY'S EXTERIORS
- Embargoed: 10th December 2016 17:10
- Keywords: Macy's retail sales shop shopping shoppers sales online bargain
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA00159Y1025
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Shoppers hit American department store Macy's in person and online on Black Friday (November 25), for what has traditionally been the biggest shopping day of the year for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Nationally, in-store shopping began to pick up in the afternoon, but the increase in customer traffic paled in comparison to the jump in online sales, analysts said.
At Macy's flagship store in New York, shoppers looked for bargains strategically brought in to maximize in-store sales.
"In order to get people to come back, we had fantastic value in places like the fragrance area. So, we're one of the largest sellers of prestige fragrance anywhere in the world. But we also added a sample kit of $15 to try six different fragrances. That's been a home run for us. We've brought in more plush toys. So, we did a collaboration with a new movie called 'Trolls'. And, so, all this is exclusive to us of what some of the products that we've sold. It's really doing great. And then, for us, the apparel business is good. Finally, we're selling cold weather apparel. So, jackets, and coats, and boots, and then we added technology. So we have the Apple Watches with us, Michael Kors watches are now technology driven. So, all of these are categories that we haven't had, and they are selling very, very well. So, there's a number of new things and interesting consumers into our stores," the retailer's chief executive officer, Terry Lundgren, told Reuters.
Macy's Inc website saw such heavy traffic that it had to delay customers from entering the site at three different times.
Online sales on Friday hit $1.70 billion as of 3 p.m. EDT, according to Adobe Digital Index, after reaching $1.13 billion for the day on Thursday, up almost 14 percent from a year ago.
The National Retail Federation has said it expects total sales this holiday season to increase by 3.6 percent to $655.8 billion, mainly due to the rise in online shopping.
This weekend's shopping could reflect signs of faster economic growth in the fourth quarter this year. Nationwide U.S. retail sales rose 0.8 percent in October, driven by a 1.5 percent jump in receipts at online retailers.
The lowest unemployment rate in eight years of 4.9 percent in October and a rise in hourly wage rates of 2.8 percent for the year, the biggest increase since 2009, is fueling consumer confidence and spending power.
"All of this adds up to the consumer feeling better about their current situation and I'm hoping they ... buy all of their gifts from Macy's," Lundgren added.
Macy's shopper Evelyn Ponce said she was pleased with the prices.
"I'm finding bargains in the perfumes, you know, makeup, cosmetics, I like it, very good, very good. This year, they better sales than last year."
The deepest average discounts for Black Friday came from leading online retailer Amazon.com Inc, with an average of 42 percent off, compared with 33 percent off at Walmart, 35 percent at Target and 36 percent at Best Buy, according to e-commerce analytics firm Clavis Insight.
Amazon said Black Friday would surpass last year in terms of the number of items ordered on its website. The Seattle-based company declined to provide specifics.
Both Target and Walmart, two of the country's biggest brick-and-mortar retailers, said Thanksgiving online sales were some of their best ever.
Customer traffic online could be up 20 percent over Black Friday from a year ago, Cowen & Co analysts forecast in a note, while store traffic is likely to fall 3 to 4 percent this year on Black Friday.
For years, Black Friday has started the holiday shopping season in the United States with retailers offering steep discounts. But its popularity has been on the wane with the rise of online shopping and cheap deals throughout the year.
The holiday shopping season, which runs through Christmas on Dec. 25, can account for as much as 40 percent of retailers' annual sales. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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