{"id":4463,"date":"2025-11-26T13:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T13:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/macys-wants-cash-strapped-shoppers-to-know-they-have-options-this-holiday\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T13:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T13:31:15","slug":"macys-wants-cash-strapped-shoppers-to-know-they-have-options-this-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/macys-wants-cash-strapped-shoppers-to-know-they-have-options-this-holiday\/","title":{"rendered":"Macy’s wants cash-strapped shoppers to know they have options this holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

More Americans than ever are expected to go shopping this Thanksgiving weekend<\/a>, many of them looking for holiday gifts and Black Friday bargains.<\/p>\n

No retailer is more synonymous with holiday shopping than Macy\u2019s, whose flagship New York department store was the setting for the classic 1947 film \u201cMiracle on 34th Street.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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But Macy\u2019s is navigating a challenging season for consumers and retailers this year, as are its competitors.<\/p>\n

CEO Tony Spring recently told NBC News the company\u2019s focus is on offering shoppers a range of options.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully people are feeling like they have an opportunity to invest in gifts this season, and if they\u2019re having to be frugal, if they\u2019re having to be careful, if they\u2019re having to make choices, we\u2019ve got options,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the National Retail Federation, 189 million people are forecast to shop, both online and in person, between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday.<\/p>\n

\"Tony
Macy’s CEO Tony Spring in New York City on Oct. 22, 2024.<\/span>Dave Kotinsky \/ Getty Images for Fragrance Foundation<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But it\u2019s a difficult time for consumers in America, as economic anxiety, corporate layoffs, stubborn inflation and tariffs all weigh on people\u2019s holiday shopping plans.<\/p>\n

A closely watched survey of consumer sentiment<\/a> released Friday found it had fallen to levels not seen since 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis.<\/p>\n

For retailers like Macy\u2019s, this overall confidence drop could make the Black Friday shopping weekend all the more important.<\/p>\n

According to a study from the consulting firm Bain & Company<\/a>, 2025 retail sales during the four-day period from Friday through Monday could make up a record share of U.S. sales for the entire holiday season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to be Cyber Monday versus Black Friday. That divide doesn\u2019t exist anymore. Everyone is shopping and connected to their devices all weekend long,\u201d said Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we see is that most shoppers do tend to go on in store, particularly on Black Friday,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people are looking for gifts, they like to see things in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than a century, this in-person experience is exactly what department stores have offered shoppers. And today, Macy\u2019s operates more than 300 of its namesake stores<\/a>, plus the Bloomingdale\u2019s and Bluemercury brands.<\/p>\n

During a recent visit to the Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade studio in New Jersey, Spring shared his perspective on the state of the consumer and how Macy\u2019s is adapting to meet customers where they are this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are some customers who are going to be careful and cautious,\u201d said Spring. \u201cThere are other customers that say, \u2018This is my holiday. I\u2019ve been looking forward to this holiday all year long.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Holiday shopper Deneen Miller is part of that first group. \u201cThis year is going to be tough,\u201d Miller told NBC News outside of Macy\u2019s flagship store in New York\u2019s Herald Square recently.<\/p>\n

Miller said her holiday budget this year was under pressure in part due to rising economic uncertainty, but also from a newer factor: tariffs imposed <\/a>by President Donald Trump since he took office in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tariffs, it\u2019s definitely going to have an impact on shopping,\u201d Miller said. \u201cMost definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher tariffs on imported goods are the backbone of Trump\u2019s economic agenda, and he has increased customs duties on a huge range of products, from aluminum to bananas to Barbie dolls.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s his China tariffs<\/a>, in particular, that will have an outsize impact this year on items synonymous with the holidays: toys, electronics and seasonal decor.<\/p>\n

Spring said Macy\u2019s is working hard to minimize the impact of tariffs \u2014 both on customers and on the company\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love for tariffs not to be something that the team is focused on,\u201d said Spring. \u201cBut the reality is \u2014 like weather \u2014 you get these things that happen that you didn\u2019t predict.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a time like this, he said, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to navigate, you\u2019ve got to pivot. And we have a game plan that\u2019s focused on delivering a great holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tariffs have also helped shape what Macy\u2019s shoppers will see this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve cut back within a category like toys, where we thought some of the pricing was just not realistic,\u201d said Spring.<\/p>\n

But not all toys.<\/p>\n

Macy\u2019s is leaning into Lego, he said, \u201cwhere we\u2019ve had a spectacular business. We think it\u2019s very important for the customer to see a broad assortment of Lego within the Macy\u2019s business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lego is a standout star<\/a> in an industry that has been battered in recent years by tariffs, supply chain woes<\/a> and changing consumer tastes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Spring said, Macy\u2019s strategy for adapting to tariffs is multipronged and still evolving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s brand by brand, category by category. There was no one-size-fits-all approach. We really tried to take it, with every single merchandise area, and say, \u2018What\u2019s most important to the customer? Where can we negotiate more effectively? Where do we have to potentially take a hit so that we can deliver the right value for the consumer?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The coming weeks will reveal whether Macy\u2019s strategy strikes the right balance.<\/p>\n

The NRF predicts that the 2025 holiday shopping season<\/a> will top a trillion dollars for the first time ever, with the average customer spending nearly $900.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m cautiously optimistic\u201d about the potential of this holiday season, said Spring. \u201cI see a resilience and an excitement and enthusiasm for the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a year of tougher choices for many Americans, holiday gift giving can offer a celebratory respite, said the NRF\u2019s Cullen.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers do what they can to make this time special,\u201d she said. \u201cEven when things might feel a little tight, they will do what they can, shopping discounts, buying secondhand, looking for sales, to make this time as special and as celebratory as they can,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More Americans than ever are expected to go shopping this Thanksgiving weekend, many of them looking for holiday gifts and Black Friday bargains. No retailer is more synonymous with holiday shopping than Macy\u2019s, whose flagship New York department store was the setting for the classic 1947 film \u201cMiracle on 34th Street.\u201d But Macy\u2019s is navigating <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}