Today in Retail: Macy’s Future Is Getting Smaller; Walmart, Angi Join Forces

Today in retail, Macy’s is considering smaller stores, while Walmart is partnering with Angi, which will offer its in-home project services via the retailer. Plus, digital and physical retail are becoming more complementary than competitive, digital blueprints are reinventing the physical retail experience, and Dolce and Gabbana are ditching fur use later this year.

‘Mini Macy’s’ Would Mark Next Step in Ongoing Reinvention of Giant Dept. Stores

Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell said the retailer’s “next evolution” will include physical stores that are a fraction of the size of the typical 250,000-square-foot hub — about the size of a typical CVS. The 30,000- to 50,000-square-foot free-standing stores would serve Macy’s customers in a different way. Macy’s had previously announced downsizing and store closures, and the retail industry is rethinking physical retail space as a whole.

Walmart to Offer Angi’s Installation and Services at Stores and Online

Walmart and home maintenance platform Angi have unveiled a partnership that will see Angi offering its in-home project services through the retailer’s website, app and about 4,000 Walmart stores in all 50 states. Through the collaboration, Walmart customers will be able to buy more than 150 common projects when they check out, including flooring, painting, plumbing, electrical, TV installation, furniture assembly and more.

Physical Stores Pivot to Support eCommerce Sales

New thinking, design and technology concepts are coming together across the retail landscape to help merchants create engaging and safe experiences that redefine omnichannel commerce and payments. Molly Murphy, managing director and principal at design, architecture and planning firm Gensler, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster the firm is using a digital blueprint overlay system during the store design/redesign phase that maps and optimizes consumer touchpoints, tapping into social shopping and related trends.

Retailers Use Digital Blueprints to Reinvent the Physical Store Experience

Digital retail and eCommerce is firmly in the driver’s seat these days, leaving brick-and-mortar operators to learn how to complement shopping excursions that begin online, flipping what used to see shoppers come to the store more often than not to make their purchases and look at digital as a complement or an add-on to the physical shopping experience. This shift presents a design challenge for physical retailers that have been jumping from one foot to the other throughout the pandemic.

Dolce & Gabbana Ending Fur Use

Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana has announced in a joint statement with animal rights association Humane Society International that it will end its use of fur in all of its collections later this year. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) first mentioned D&G’s plans to ditch fur and angora. Several other fashion brands — including Armani, Kering, Prada, Valentino, Versace, Moncler and luxury eCommerce platform Yoox Net-a-Porter — have already said they will ban the use of animal fur in their products, part of an appeal to younger consumers.