There were a few reports around the holiday season noting that chains were releasing total sales figures but not identifying the contribution online was making to the top line. Many thought this especially puzzling considering the marketing efforts that many were making to drive business online.
Now, January sales figures are coming in and at least one company, Macy's Inc., is shown to have benefited from its online efforts with sales of Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com jumping by a combined 23.9 percent for the month. Total same-store sales for Macy's two chains were up 3.4 percent in January.
Online sales were up 26.6 percent in the fourth quarter for the two sites, improving same-store performance by 0.7 percent during the period for the company.
Discussion Questions: What do you take away from the contribution that Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com are making to the total business? Should department stores, in particular, be putting greater emphasis on thier online strategies?