Shoppers return to reopened stores faster than expected

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]