Macy's Creates The Customer Experience Through Omnichannel

Dazzling in-store designs that enhance the customer experience and improve the perception of the brand across all channels will be discussed at the NRF Big Show session "A Visual Journey of Retail Environments that Render Outstanding Customer Experience. " Top retail industry designers, including Macy's VP of design Steven Derwoed, will share how they tell their brand story and build loyalty, and ultimately increase sales by focusing on the customer experience.

Macy's is a leader in the new omnichannel world. The retail giant is dedicated to investment across all channels and relies on interesting and engaging design in all facets of its business to drive sales. The distinction between an online customer and a brick-and-mortar customer is no more for Macy's ­— the retail giant has stopped breaking down its sales figures by channel and instead relies of total sales across all channels as its new sales metric.

Despite the undeniable success of online retailing, a "large, large majority of our customers have continued to come into the store and actually want to touch the inventory, touch the products, sit in the chair," Macy's chairman, president and chief executive officer Terry J. Lundgren said at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer Conference. "I heard it last night at a presentation that I was doing from the woman that was sitting next to me about her personal experience when she was buying from Macy’s. [She] researched online, went into the store to actually sit in chairs she was thinking about buying, bought something else, because she saw it, came home, bought it online, we delivered it and got it. Now that’s all about the omnichannel consumer."

The design and layout of a brick and mortar retail destination must evolve with the omnichannel customer. The speed and ease of online shopping have conditioned customers to expect the same order in the brick and mortar world. As online shopping's popularity grows and grows some may think the need for quality design in the brick and mortar world would decrease, but the reverse is the case.

The customer experience session will take place Tuesday January 14, 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. on the EXPO Stage on Level 1 of the Jacob Javits Center.