Macy’s will bring back a retooled same-day delivery service beginning Oct. 1, with orders over $75 fulfilled at no cost for a limited time.
The department store retailer had previously offered a similar “instant gratification” service that went underutilized on e-commerce largely because it was hard for shoppers to find, Jill Ramsey, executive vice president, chief product and digital revenue officer for Macy’s explained at the WWD Digital Forum in New York City Wednesday.
Ramsey claims Macy’s will be the only department store to offer such speedy delivery at no charge. The revamped delivery program makes more products available to more customers in a broader range of markets, she said, adding, “customers expect some portion of the assortment to be available to them” on a same-day basis.
Much of the demand for same-day delivery stems from customers—mainly women—who might be shopping for a specific event. She’ll often be dressing for a specific occasion—“something she has with urgency”—which is reflected in purchases of higher-ticket dresses, shoes and complementary accessories, Ramsey explained.
The same-day reset is just one of Macy’s many initiatives designed to position the legacy retailer to better serve digitally enabled consumers and their mobile-first habits, according to Ramsey. In addition to refreshing its digital flagship to reflect an elevated and aspirational point of view versus its traditionally promotional focus, Macy’s also updated its mobile app to enhance the in-store experience after the company realized that its loyal, app-loving customers weren’t engaging with the software as much within its four walls.
In response, Macy’s adopted myriad mobile app best practices, adding in-store wayfinding capabilities to help shoppers navigate its large-footprint boxes. And push notifications and recommendations are now tailored to promote offers based on the store a customer is shopping. A scan-and-pay self-checkout feature paved the way for Macy’s to pilot a new offering enabling store cardholders to transact via mobile with their Macy’s card.
Macy’s is also seizing on the power of user-generated content by “bringing customers onto the homepage” when shoppers upload photos of themselves wearing fashion from Macy’s and use the #macyslove hashtag, Ramsey noted. The retailer is gamifying the experience with regular sweepstakes that give participants a chance to win store-branded gift cards and have their photos displayed prominently on the homepage, in addition to curating this content on a dedicated Instagram page.