1 month ago
15
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The largest department store chain in the United States, like many other retailers, have recently warned that shoppers may be more cautious in the months ahead.
March 6, 2025Updated 10:34 a.m. ET
Macy’s, the largest department store in the United States, saw slightly improved sales during the holiday season, but it and other retailers have warned of a rocky year ahead as tariffs push up prices and sow uncertainty for shoppers.
Macy’s said comparable sales across all of its stores, which include Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, rose 0.2 percent last quarter, its best result in nearly three years.
Although a modest improvement, the result was welcomed as the retailer faces many challenges, including consumers squeezed by inflation, shrinking margins and a bizarre accounting error. Macy’s is in the midst of a turnaround plan that includes closing underperforming locations: It has closed more than 60 of 150 planned stores so far.
Like other retailers, Macy’s gave a cautious outlook for this year. It expects to bring in less revenue, in part because of the store closures, and for comparable sales to fall as much as 2 percent. The company’s shares, which have fallen about 20 percent this year, seesawed in early trading on Thursday.
Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail consulting firm GlobalData, said that this year would be a “choppy one” for Macy’s, but that it was “now at least headed in the right direction.”
Its plans may be derailed by a sweeping round of tariffs recently imposed by President Trump on imports from Canada, Mexico and China — the country’s three largest trading partners — which are looming over retailers.
