Macy’s Adds Product Proximity Search To App

Macy’s has been known for testing the omnichannel waters, which seems to be paying off for the major retailer. And while Macy’s already allows its customers to sort products by store location to see where they are available, the retailer has recently added the option to its mobile app.

Macy’s app recently got an upgrade, giving consumers more of a push to turn toward its mobile app to conduct their shopping online. On top of its product proximity search feature, its new mobile upgrade allows customers to stay signed in longer without having to input personal information every time they open the app. The new search feature on the mobile app enables a new way for consumers to engage with Macy’s mobile side, while still keeping them connecting with its physical stores.

“As an omnichannel retailer serving an omnichannel customer, we aim to provide shoppers with seamless interaction wherever they engage with us,” Orlando Veras, director of national media relations at Macy’s Inc., said in an interview. “From mobile and desktop to the in-store shopping experience, we offer customers the opportunity to transition from one interaction to the next with ease. The mobile app which functions both as a shopping vehicle and as a help tool is a very important element in Macy’s omnichannel ecosystem and will continue to be a cornerstone of our mobile initiatives.”

Outside of shopping on its mobile app, Macy’s omnichannel focus has been to connect its consumers to its brick-and-mortar stores by offering shop online, pick up in store. In the company’s fourth quarter earnings call with analysts in February, Macy’s CFO Karen Hoguet indicated that the investments in the company’s digital channel are being viewed as a way to fuel growth for the two or three years to come. While it continues to balance its brick-and-mortar presence with growing its digital channels, Hoguet said Macy’s goal within its storefronts is to bring “more congruency between stores and online.” Macy’s is also looking into same-day delivery pilots.

“Our digital channels at both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s did extremely well in the quarter. We were very focused and pleased with what we accomplished with Buy-Online, Pick Up In Store. Both because of the new wave of customers who utilize this shopping, but also for the radiated sales we got when the orders were picked up. And our same-day delivery test was successful and we will expand in 2015 to additional markets,” Hoguet said.