Macy's Internet And Social Media Marketing Today

Macy’s Internet and Social Media Marketing Today

Macy’s stores are just half of what Macy’s markets in todays society. Today, technology is running the world trying to make our lives more efficient and user friendly. Stores try to keep up in this constantly changing world to get customers to see all aspects of their advertising. Mostly, Macy’s is seen on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other up and coming sites. Each page is filled with replying and staying connected to customers, marketing upcoming events and contest, and the newest items in stock. Each site is different in its own way and can sometimes be unpredictable when it comes staying relevant. There are many factors to their marketing on social media that can be strengths and

weaknesses and with a new up-and-coming site it is easy to drown in the world wide web. Macy’s has done a great job staying relevant but can also use improvement in certain fields of the changing web. With the Internet in the hands of everyone, Macy’s has and is becoming a very successful online store through their strengths, what they can do better, and overcoming their weaknesses.
Macy’s has many strengths when it comes to social media marketing. They explore their options of what can be useful to bring customers in and always researching about what is on the horizon (in social media terms). One way is their Omnichannel way of business. Omnichannel provides easy access for shopper to shop on computers, cellphones, or in the store. This has a successful outcome because customer like that it is easier to use and faster to receive service or getting their product/service. “In fact, the company found that customers who engage with them in an omnichannel way are 8 times more likely to buy something than customers who remained in one shopping segment.” (Parisi, 2015) Making Omnichannel a strength for Macy’s who has utilized the way they do business.
Another way is their ecommerce. Ecommerce is the way businesses handle online shopping or trading. “Macy’s said that it expects to lose $575 million in sales this year because of the 68 store closings — but investing sufficiently in a digital presence is no longer optional as the e-commerce market grows larger” (Macy's restructuring to focus on digital, 2017) Although loss of profit in stores, their internet capabilities are becoming stronger and has made a nice profit online instead of in stores.
The last example of a strength in Macy’s social media marketing strategy is micro-moments.

Take Pinterest for example, when looking for fashion boards or shoe boards it is easy for Macy’s to see your interest in shoes or fashion and gives you the ability to also see their fashion and shoes. This would be how Macy’s gets the attention of new customers. “For Macy’s, those micro-moments could come in the form of a customer showing an in-store sales rep a product they saw on the brand’s mobile site. The result could include being promptly led to where to find this item in-store, whether to try on/inspecting, or to skip straight to the purchase via mobile payment.” (Parisi, 2015) This can make customers see the customer friendly way to find just what they are looking for and help them checkout immediately. This is a strength because the easier it is to shop at Macy’s the more likely they are to become loyal to the

brand.
Although Macy’s has been keeping almost up to date with the newest social media fads, there are some things they could do better. For one, Macy’s store closing has brought a bad rep when it hit the news. This has brought some conflict to the turning to just the omnichannel instead. Although it was a strength omnichannel can be a contradiction. “If Macy’s is closing 100 stores to focus only on omnichannel, it won’t work,” Parthasarthy said. “Omnichannel was a strategy retailer used 15 years ago, but the focus now should be on infinite channels — in store, web, mobile, social, bots, etc.” (Schlosser, 2016) What Macy’s should do is invest in infinite channels now. Omnichannel is profitable but what can improve is the way they see technology and how they can add it into their business.
Another weakness would be their competitors.

Macy’s is known for its sister department store, Bloomingdales and both stores have the same competitors as Nordstrom, Dillard’s, and JC Penny’s. These stores, including Macy’s, has been trying to connect though the web but the real competition for Macy’s in the social media department which would be Amazon and Walmart. “There’s nothing that sets it [Macy’s] apart,” said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a New York-based research firm. “It’s crowded, it’s messy, the service is poor. The business model of Macy’s is no longer justifiable in a world dominated by Amazon and Walmart.” (Bhattarai, 2017) With their technology and the ability to have a very large variety of different products, Amazon and Walmart have been very successful with social media marketing. Especially since Amazon is trying to outdo Macy’s in the fashion department. “The retailer is facing considerable competition online. Amazon.com, which has a private-label clothing brand and is experimenting with custom-fit items, is widely expected to usurp Macy’s as the country’s largest clothing retailer this year.” (Bhattarai, 2017) What Macy’s could improve is their determination to make more technological advances to exceed Amazon. Macy’s could outdo Amazon in custom-fit items is holograms of the real thing. I think it could be done if they fund more to technology and it could make Macy’s a huge profit because it is yet to be a common

thing.
Macy’s has been in the social media market for some time now and has developed into an easy and efficient online store. Macy’s has accomplished this through their omnichannel, ecommerce, and their micro-moments. All three have a great way of bringing in customers and encouraging them to buy the products/services. Even though Macy’s has weaknesses through its competitors and its not the latest channels, they can improve this with converting to infinite channels and coming up with the newest, best technological advancement that can exceed Amazon’s newest tactics. Macy’s is on its way to having an excellent online store through their strengths, overcoming their weaknesses and what they can so better because everyone has technology today and so should Macy’s.