Why We Believe In Macy's Online Marketplace

By Scott Murphy

Global eCommerce Consultant at Masei & Ryland

As many of you know, all of us at Masei & Ryland help clients get onboard such major online platforms as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and others.

Lately, we’ve been encouraging relevant prospects to join Macy’s marketplace online. In short, we believe in them and they have an ultrastrong retail track record.

For Asian owners and consumers who haven’t heard of them, the U.S.-based retailer began in 1858 as a single dry-goods store in New York City. Its first-day sales? US$11.06. But oh how they grew. Over the past century and a half, the company blossomed into a massive retailer with an iconic New York City location, its own annual parade, and hundreds of retail outlets. In 2021, Macy’s Inc. earned nearly US$24.5 BILLION in annual sales, with ONE-THIRD of those transactions taking place online. During the most recent quarter, its media network sales were up 13.3%...and we expect that to continue. Overall sales for the retailer were at US$4.7 BILLION.

Only a couple of years old, Macys.com offers a carefully curated collection of 400 new brands from third-party merchants and partners in 20 product categories. And because the marketplace is already integrated into Macy’s existing e-commerce site, shoppers can look at all products in one seamless experience. “The marketplace allows us to move into new and adjacent categories more quickly, without any risk from an inventory perspective, to test customer demand and continue to meet customer expectations,” says Matt Baer, Macy’s chief digital and customer officer. “It enables us to create more profitable customer relationships and to add styles and trends as they emerge.”

For instance, under a traditional retail model, adding new merchandise means that a retailer has to source, purchase, and manage the logistics of items…and this can take months! Now, Macy’s can add merchandise within hours via the marketplace.

In 2025 and beyond, Macy’s is looking to increase its digital reach, expand its luxury subsidiaries, reinvest in private-label brands, and enhance the overall shopping experience for consumers overall. “It wasn’t about getting to the launch and being done,” says Baer. “It’s about continuing to enhance the platform we’ve built. We have a multiyear road map of all the features and functionality we intend to build. We’re learning which categories are accelerating more quickly than others, which ones current customers are shopping, and which ones are driving customer acquisition.”

So that’s why we believe in Macy’s – and we’ll continue to positively upsell them with clients in 2025. “There’s no doubt that Macy’s Marketplace is a terrific new platform for our clients, and I’d be glad to talk more about them for people who are interested,” says Alan Lee, CEO of Masei & Ryland. “It’s a win-win for all involved, and we’ve got the connections to make the onboarding process smooth for you.”