Yahoo Finance Macy's (M) Omnichannel Initiatives Appear Encouraging
Macy's, Inc. M has been making smart omnichannel moves to enrich the customer experience. The company is ramping up digital capabilities to provide better digital experiences and its Polaris strategy also holds promise. Management has also been making initiatives to gain market share, better engage with customers and maintain a decent financial profile.
Additionally, analysts seem optimistic about the company’s potential. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) currently stands at $24.2 billion and $3.90, respectively. These estimates show year-over-year growth of 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Shares of this key omnichannel retailer have jumped 5.6% over the past six months, compared to the industry’s 5% gain.
Macy’s also looks good from an earnings point of view. The company’s earnings have outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the past four quarters, with a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 60.7%. A VGM Score of A coupled with a long-term expected earnings growth rate of 12% speaks volumes for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Macy's, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Macy's, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Macy's, Inc. Quote
Let’s Delve Deeper
Macy's has been making efforts to deliver customers a seamless shopping experience. Its collaboration with the Swedish buy now, pay later group Klarna, is enabling the company to offer shoppers financial ease and payment flexibility with their online purchases. Here, shoppers can choose to pay in four equal and interest-free installments at the online checkout. The company’s tie-up with DoorDash for expedited delivery service is also encouraging. Markedly, a redesigned mobile app, live shopping functionality and the addition of payment options such as Apple Pay, Klarna Express Checkout, PayPal and Venmo have been making shopping easier for customers.
Macy’s has also launched a digital marketplace, featuring a collection of new brands, products and categories from third-party sellers. Also, Market by Macy's initiative plays an important role in the company’s omnichannel market ecosystem. To power the platform, the company has partnered with Mirakl which is a leading enterprise marketplace technology company. Selected third-party merchants will sell products on macys.com and bloomingdales.com. In fiscal 2022, Macy’s had launched Own Your Style, an omnichannel brand platform, which allows customers to celebrate their personal style.
The company is also focused on off-mall smaller format stores, which play an important role in boosting the omnichannel ecosystem. In fiscal 2023, management intends to open four Market by Macy’s and one Bloomie’s. Management cited that if these locations will outperform, then it will incrementally accelerate off-mall openings starting fiscal 2024. It intends to add 2,000 brands to Macy’s marketplace and launch Bloomingdale’s marketplace in fiscal 2023.
Impressively, management is on track to strengthen its omnichannel capabilities with investments in online shopping experiences, data and analytics, technology infrastructure as well as better fulfillment capabilities. Incidentally, Macy’s expanded omnichannel offerings such as curbside, store pickup and same-day delivery bode well. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, approximately 68% of digital sales came from mobile devices. Stores fulfilled 33% of digital sales in the quarter. Digital penetration was 37%, 40% and 23%, respectively, at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury brands during the quarter under discussion. Digital sales are likely to be roughly 32-34% of net sales for fiscal 2023.
Solid Picks in Retail
We have highlighted three top-ranked stocks, namely Urban Outfitters URBN, American Eagle Outfitters AEO and Stitch Fix SFIX.
Urban Outfitters, a leading apparel and accessories retailer, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Urban Outfitters’ current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 4.3% and 41.7%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. URBN delivered a negative earnings surprise of 7.1% in the trailing four quarters.
American Eagle Outfitters, a retailer of casual apparel, accessories and footwear, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). AEO delivered an earnings surprise of 23.3% in the last reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Eagle Outfitters’ current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 1.3% and 15.5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures.
Stitch Fix, an online personal styling retailer, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. The company has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 10.6%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Stitch Fix’s current financial-year EPS suggests growth of 1.2% from the year-ago reported figure.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Macy's, Inc. (M) : Free Stock Analysis Report
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Stitch Fix, Inc. (SFIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
