Macy’s Says Richer Online ‘Storytelling Experience’ Boosts Comparable Sales Growth

Macy’s Inc. saw its strongest comparable sales growth in 12 quarters during the second quarter, with gains across its three department store nameplates, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury.

Speaking Wednesday (Sept. 3) during the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Macy’s Inc. Chairman and CEO Tony Spring attributed the growth to “substantive enterprise-wide improvements” the company has made while pursuing its A Bold New Chapter strategy.

Macy’s Inc. unveiled the strategy in February 2024, saying it aims to modernize its operations, improve its customer experience and open new growth opportunities.

During the second quarter, the company’s Macy’s nameplate, like Macy’s Inc., recorded its best comparable sales growth in 12 quarters. Macy’s saw year-over-year growth in comparable sales of 1.2% at all its stores and 1.5% at its go-forward stores, according to a Tuesday press release. Go-forward stores are those that the company does not plan to close, per a Tuesday presentation.

Spring said during the call that the company’s strategy of closing underperforming locations and investing where there are opportunities will create “a more focused and profitable store base.”

“I believe we are positioned to deliver long-term growth in our Macy’s go-forward business, inclusive of digital,” Spring said during the call. “This is driven by exceptional customer omnichannel experiences, improved selling, enhanced colleague development and inspired merchandising, including more variety with reduced redundancies.”

Asked by an analyst about opportunities to continue to grow comparable sales, Spring highlighted the company’s investments in in-store service and online storytelling.

“I’m a big believer in colleagues on the floor,” Spring said. “These customer-facing initiatives are really important to changing the character of the department store experience. We see it in letters on a daily basis on what we’re doing to change the experience for the customers in our stores.”

“We’re obviously doing that also in our digital experience,” Spring said. “I invite you to look at macys.com today versus just three months ago. We’re providing a richer product-driven, trend-driven storytelling experience.”

Among Macy’s Inc.’s luxury nameplates, Bloomingdale’s reported its fourth consecutive quarter of growth with comparable sales up 5.7%, while Bluemercury reported its 18th consecutive quarter of gains with comparable sales up 1.2%, according to the release.

“Our Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury customers are responding well to our aspirational to luxury positioning,” Spring said during the call. “We have proven growth strategies in place for both and are confident in the luxury category and its long-term potential.”

Looking ahead, Macy’s Inc. raised its 2025 guidance for comparable sales to a range of down 1.5% to down 0.5%. In May, the company’s guidance was a range of down 2% to down 0.5%, according to the release.

“Our customer across nameplates has remained resilient through the first half of the year and quarter to date,” Spring said during the call. “However, given the uncertainty regarding the impact of tariffs on demand, we believe it’s prudent to continue to incorporate a more choiceful consumer into our guidance for the remainder of the year.”