Macy's experiments with self-service in shoe department

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Mar 13, 2017

Macy's is trying a new selling approach, stocking all sizes and colors on the selling floor instead of having sales staff running back and forth from the store room. This self-service method is more common in discount or off-price chains like Marshall’s and T.J. Maxx.

This plan would allow Macy’s to have less staff on the floor in the shoe department. The shoe department  is the only section of the department store that has staff running back and forth between the stock room and the selling floor. Having less staff on the shoe floor would make it easier to staff smaller stores who aren’t performing as well.

"Having sufficient staffing to do that is sometimes challenging. Lots [of customers] just say, ‘leave me alone, let me get the shoe I want and move on,” said Macy’s chief financial officer Karen Hoguet at an investor conference.

This self-service method first started appearing at smaller Macy’s locations last year but is now being expanded to larger Macy's locations.

Macy’s has been struggling as of late – the department store sold off 66 stores over the course of retailers and announced plans to shutter 34 more in the near future. While e-commerce growth saw double-digit growth, net sales last quarter fell 4 percent, showing the eighth consecutive quarter of quarterly sales decline.