Shoppers return to reopened stores faster than expected
By
Andy Weissman
Published on
Zara Store (Credit: Zara)
Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said sales at reopened stores are down by about half compared with before the pandemic, which is better than the 85% decline the company had predicted. At Kohl’s, stores are doing about three-quarters of their pre-pandemic sales volume, up from about two-thirds in late May, according to the Wall Street Journal.
By the numbers: Macy’s sales fell to $3.02 billion on a preliminary basis from $5.5 billion in the comparable quarter last year.
Worrisome news: Zara-owner Inditex said it is permanently closing as many as 1,200 stores — 16% of its global outlets — and will pivot more aggressively toward selling online. The company estimates online revenue will account for more than 25% of total sales by 2022, up from 14% last year. First-quarter sales dropped 44%, WSJ noted.
Future of retail: UBS estimates that across the U.S. retail industry, roughly 100,000 stores could close over the next five years — more than triple the number that shut during the 2007-09 recession. E-commerce is expected to jump to a quarter of U.S. retail sales over the same period, from 15% last year. [WSJ]