Introduction
The beginning rick-and-mortar retail industry dates to as early as the late 1700s. The first department store, Harding, Howell & Co were targeted to “newly affluent middle class women” (A History of the Department Store, n.d.). The first department store to be opened in North America was in 1852 named Marshall Field’s (A History of the Department Store, n.d.). For centuries brick-and-mortar retail stores have grown significantly and have opened millions of stores across the world. They have essentially defined the retail industry and inspired the introduction of e-commerce. Macy’s is one of the largest brick-and-mortar retail stores in the United States and has demonstrated strong market share in the department store industry,
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As a widely-recognized retailer across North America, Macy’s sells a range of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories, as well as a wide assortment of cosmetics, fragrances, and home furnishings (IBISWorld, 2017). With a 14.6% share of the market for US-based department stores, Macy’s faces intense competition from JCPenney, Nordstrom, Walmart, Sears and Target (See Exhibit X) (IBISWorld, 2017). In August 2016, Macy’s announced that it would close 100 stores, citing that they had too many storefronts during this digitally-oriented era. The closures are in effort to reduce expenses, improve the company’s ability to organize and focus on other key priorities (IBISWorld, 2017). Thus, to remain competitive in the current retail environment, Macy’s is faced with the challenges of reinventing in existing brick-and-mortar locations to create innovative in-store customer experiences, which is the focus of our research.
The purpose of this report is to increase customer traffic in stores and to gain a competitive advantage against other retail stores. Through conducting a survey online, we gained valuable insight in relation to customer experience and expectations pertaining to brick-and-mortar retail, with a focus on Macy’s. With our findings and subsequent analysis, we could provide an astute recommendation aimed to mitigate the challenges facing brick and mortar retail
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The determined marketing problem pays attention to the challenges facing Macy’s. We have chosen to segment our research based on two key concepts: in-store traffic and customer experience. The first component, in-store traffic, entails an analysis of how the Internet, and consumer trends play a role in either impeding or enhancing business in physical store locations. The second component, customer experience, requires investigation of the fundamental characteristics of physical retail stores such as store layout, customer service and overall store atmosphere. Research of this matter is important for the advancement of brick-and-mortar retail moving forward into an ever-increasing digital
Macy’s intended to deliver enhanced shopping experiences to its consumers through dynamic department stores and online sites. In this regard, the company developed a North Star strategy that allows it to improve its sales growth and to develop its existing core activities. The company’s consumer research monitors, analyze and anticipate their needs and wants based on the changing market trends. This allows it to strengthen its customer base and also helps it in identifying new markets and customers. Macy’s also identifies different styles and designs based on various occasions and events that allow it to capture the changing preferences of its customers. The company also celebrates various iconic events to interact with its customers which
Lowe’s grew through strategic choice by heavily focusing on key functional areas involving research and development (R&D), marketing, and logistics. Lowe’s important R&D investments included the creation of two prototype stores. The first prototype with 147,000 square feet catered to large markets and the other with 120,000 square feet catered to smaller markets (Rouse, 2005). Lowe’s used these store prototypes to help guide their continued growth and store placement. The prototypes also aided the company in designing future stores more efficiently with respect to energy and sustainability (Lowe’s Companies, Inc., n.d.). Furthermore, Lowe’s marketing strategy concentrated on attracting new customers and enhancing current customer satisfaction. To bring new customers to the store, Lowe’s engaged in a pull marketing strategy (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012). The com...
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) differentiates from its competitors because it’s a leading global specialty retailer offering latest trends that are high-quality and affordable. The source of competitive advantage is the quality of their clothes and their environmentally friendly fabrics. American Eagle Outfitters is a high-quality and inexpensive brand of their two competitors Aéropostal and Abercrombie and Fitch. AEO centers in every category of purchaser such as kids, tweens, teens, and adults. American Eagle Outfitters has further stores open globally and their product line is more assorted than its competitors and its name brand and logo is known world-wide.
After co-branding the Macy’s name with local Federated stores in 2003, the Macy’s division became the central focus for revamping. Federated descri...
Nordstrom is one of the top retailers in the United States. With a solid brand image and a sound financial situation, Nordstrom is relentless in their expansion in the US, and are beginning to expand into international markets. Nordstrom takes pleasure in providing state of the art client support and having experienced sales people. In order to hold their position as the most successful high-end retailer in the United States, Nordstrom must continue to figure out ways to improve their brand image and customer satisfaction. Nordstrom’s current business working strategy is successful but I believe there are a few ideal solutions that the organization could apply to further enhance the organization. Due to the aggressive characteristics of the fashion retail store market, it is crucial that Nordstrom preserves an aggressive advantage providing the highest level of customer support as possible.
Abstract: This paper will address the needs for demonstration of proficiency in information research, while understanding the workplace, competiveness and business communication. Included in this paper is the following: Abercrombie’s mission, the current strategic plan the company uses, the firms culture, organization, and SWOT analysis. This paper will also focus on an analysis of the company “Abercrombie and Fitch” and the major issue facing the company.
The JCPenney company is into a perfect competition market. A perfect competition is defined as a high number of firms competing against each other selling identical products. It is also due of the fact that there is a free entry and exit to the market and the information about their products is well known. JCPenney is competing against every little retailer in America but have lately found itself competing against a more upscale competition against companies like Macy’s, Kohl’s, Target, Sears and Wal-Mart. In 2016 JCPenney has done very well against its competitors on a revenue basis. They have a revenue growth increase of 1.5% year on year, which is above their competitors averaging a revenue growth of 1.09%. They also have a small 7.8% market share competed to their primarily competitors, Macy’s with 17% market share and Kohl’s with a 14.1%. They also have a 1.7% higher that competitor like Target in their current ratio. A strong positive current ratio means that they are in a strong financial position.
Paco Underhill has created a way for stores to draw more customers in and spend more money by getting in the mind of the customers. I found some of Underhill’s theories to be true. Underhill’s theories have helped provide research of the actions of consumers inside of American Eagle, Meijer and Hollister, these theories include, the need for shoppers to acclimate to their surroundings, the way customers turn into stores, and by placing most used products in the farthest places away from the
My company of choice for this report is Macy 's. 'The Magic of Macy 's ', as the company advertises it, has inspired me to shop there, take advantage of their incomparable discounts and great online shopping experience. Macy 's, Inc. is one of the largest department store chains in the United States of America. Macy 's manages stores under the Macy 's and Bloomingdale 's brands. I enjoy shopping at both of the company 's store brands, Macy 's and Bloomingdales. Bloomingdales provides a more personalized experience
Nordstrom retail stores have large hallways, and everything is presented in a very classy manner. The color scheme includes pale yellows, whites, and gold, to provide a more elegant appearance in the store in order to make the shopped feel special. The design is also seen through product organization. Compared to stores like Macy’s, which organize their products based on brand, Nordstrom organizes their products based on lifestyle. Because of this, it is easier for shoppers to find clothes similar to their style as opposed to by brand. In effect, shoppers will purchase more products. This also is a type of experiential retailing, where Nordstrom customers are able to experience the elements of their lifestyle within one section. More so, the product presentation will draw people’s eyes to products, even if they are not looking for it. This gives Nordstrom a competitive advantage in relation to other similar retail stores because it makes their store look more glamorous and high-end. While other stores may focus on value, Nordstrom utilizes the retail positioning strategy to make a customer feel more high-end and
Hansen, Torben, and Hans S. Solgaard. New Perspectives on Retailing and Store Patronage Behavior: A Study of the Interface between Retailers and Consumers. Boston, Mass: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004. USC Upstate Ebook. Web. 28 February 2011.
JCPenney is a chain of American mid-range department stores that is based out of Texas that started over 100 years ago. JCPenny has been successful for most of its time up until the last three to four years. The company is trying relentlessly to overcome the lingering effects of the makeover that former CEO, Ron Johnson, had implemented in order for the company to take a new direction in hopes of increasing sales. The new CEO, Myron Ullman, has taken a close look into the markets demographic segmentation along with the income segmentation in order to attempt to return the retailer back to its old self, which is to appeal to middle-market customers. A couple issues of major concern for the company are the dissolving of Johnson’s Boutiques, the price of their products, and overall revenue.
The survey offers insight into shopper partiality toward each store identifying the general attitude for the respondents toward each shopping area. Survey results were captured through a telephone based survey of 150 local residents conducted by the Archimedes Group, Indiana, PA (Weiers, 2008).
The Internet is currently the third most shopped channel; brands are pushed to keep up with the trend of building an online shopping option for their consumers and this is evident through the increase in retailers offering online options for their consumers (Valerio). With solely digital stores like Net-A-Porter, Amazon and eBay, competition among digital stores and physical stores are tight. Retailers are pushed to keep up with the rise of digital shopping whether they want to or not. There are several retail implications with the rise of digital shopping, retailers are turning to multi-channel retai...