Beyond the Parade: Macy’s navigates tariffs, turbulence and retail evolution

What It Covers

Macy's CEO Tony Spring discusses navigating retail turbulence through tariffs, evolving consumer behavior, and AI experimentation while defending the department store model as a marketplace concept perfectly positioned for multi-generational shoppers.

Key Questions Answered

• •Rolling forecast strategy: Macy's updates operational forecasts weekly and monthly rather than relying on quarterly plans, currently on version 27 of their 2025 forecast due to tariff uncertainty and supply chain volatility requiring constant adaptation.
• •First 50 stores strategy: After surveying 60,000 customers in 2022-2023, Macy's closes underproductive locations while investing in future-state stores with increased staffing, new merchandise assortments, and improved digital platforms based on direct customer feedback about shopping experience gaps.
• •Traffic-based staffing optimization: Macy's deploys traffic counters and conversion measures by hour in every store to dynamically adjust staffing levels, adding employees during peak Saturday afternoon periods while reducing Monday morning coverage to match actual consumer patterns.
• •Department store reframing: Spring repositions department stores as marketplace concepts offering any category, any brand, multiple price points across five generations through physical and digital channels, arguing this model represents retail's future rather than an outdated format.