Macy’s is Betting Even Bigger on Smaller Stores

Macy’s Inc. is accelerating its rollout of smaller department stores, betting that it can attract more shoppers with fewer products and more digital services at stores closer to where customers run their daily errands.

Department stores like Nordstrom Inc. and Bloomingdale’s, a unit of Macy’s, began experimenting with smaller footprints years ago as online shopping depressed foot traffic to malls and millennials began moving to the suburbs. The pandemic accelerated the trend, with retailers gravitating toward suburban shopping centers where people are making more frequent visits to grocery stores and using new curbside pickup services.

Open-air shopping centers have been the “backbone of retail over the last five to 10 years,” said Brandon Isner, head of Americas retail thought leadership at CBRE Group Inc., a commercial real-estate services firm.