Macy’s, the largest department store chain in the United States, on Wednesday raised its sales forecast for the year after reporting a better-than-expected performance across its brands.
Macy’s reported that it had recorded comparable sales growth of around 3 percent, the strongest in more than three years, according to its earnings release for the three months through Nov. 1. It credited the result to its broad product offering, from discounted apparel to luxury goods.
The results highlight a key feature of the U.S. economy: While some shoppers are seeking value and cutting back on discretionary purchases, the highest-income consumers are spending relatively freely at stores like Bloomingdale’s.
As the crucial holiday shopping season is underway, Macy’s was “well positioned with compelling new merchandise,” said Tony Spring, Macy’s chief executive, providing “both inspiration and value.”
For the full year, Macy’s said that its comparable sales would probably come in flat to up half a percent, an improvement over its previous forecast, which predicted an annual decline in sales of as much as 1.5 percent. It was the second quarter in a row that the retailer upgraded its forecast, as a turnaround effort looked to be showing results.
Macy’s said last year that it would close about 150 underperforming stores over the next several years, while opening new Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores. Net sales at Bloomingdale’s, which sells luxury brands, were up nearly 9 percent in the most recent quarter.
The National Retail Federation, an industry group, said on Tuesday that a record 203 million consumers shopped during the five-day period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to its annual consumer survey. That was up from 197 million shoppers last year, and exceeded the association’s expectations. Black Friday is the most popular shopping day for in-store and online purchases, followed by Cyber Monday for online shopping, the survey found.
Still, there were signs that inflation and a weaker job market were sowing uncertainty for shoppers. Macy’s said that it expected consumers to be more focused on value over the holiday season this year.
While wealthier households are continuing to spend, sentiment in other income groups has deteriorated in response to inflation and a labor market that appears to be losing momentum. The latest round of earnings reports from large U.S. retailers have shown that retailers that focused on value, with a wide range of discounted products, have performed well.
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, outpaced its competitors in the third quarter as it benefited from an increase in sales from higher-income families looking for bargains. Target, on the other hand, lowered its sales outlook for the year because of weaker demand for discretionary items.
The top 10 percent of households in the United States make up nearly half of all spending, according to Moody’s Analytics.
Jenny Gross is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news and other topics.
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