(PCM) It is apparent the people definitely do not shop the same way that they did in the past. For the past several years, brick and mortar retailers have had to battle the upsurge in online shopping on their own websites, as well as, other online retailers who are offering the same or similar products at deep discount prices.
Many department stores, as in the particular case Macy’s, are being forced to come up with new and creative ways to adapt to changing shopping trends. Macy’s, who were always number one in customer service, claims that research has shown them that people do not want to be bothered by a salesperson any more and would much rather do their shopping at their own pace, which is usually must faster nowadays.
The current trend is that people seem to want to be in and out of stores as quickly as possible. They grab what they are looking for and then they are on their way. In an attempt to keep up with the current trend Macy’s will now be changing the department store shopping model as we know it by installing new self-service systems in both their shoe and cosmetics departments.
What this means for customers is that they would no longer have to find a salesperson to go grab them the shoes they need in a certain size and at the cosmetics counters they can grab whatever make-up or perfume they came for without a salesperson making recommendations.
We can see how this would work out better for the shoe department because sometimes it can be a very long wait to get help if it is a busy time, however we will definitely miss the salespeople at the cosmetics counter because often times they provided very useful information about how certain products worked and what was new and exciting for each cosmetics line.
Another way that Macy’s along with other department store retailers such as Nordstrom and Saks 5th Ave are battling declining brick and mortar sales is to open deep discount retail locations. Macy’s launched “Backstage” which offers Macy’s brands marked 20 to 75% off their regular retail prices, while Nordstorm has “Nordstorm Rack” and Saks 5th Ave has “Saks Off 5th”.
These discount stores appear to be doing much better than their parent stores, so if any brick and mortar stores want to be saved this appears to be the way to go! What do you think? Do you prefer the old-fashioned department store shopping where a salesperson was available at all times to help with shopping or do you prefer to grab and go without any interference?