Lundgren: Macy’s “Just Getting Going” With Ecommerce

NEW YORK – Two weeks ago, Macy’s announced some excellent ecommerce sales figures. Online sales for macys.com and bloomingdales.com, combined, were up 35.8% in December, 40.3% for the 2011 holiday season, and 39.7% in 2011 year-to-date.

But Macy’s president and CEO Terry Lundgren is not ready for his company’s ecommerce team to rest on its laurels. That’s because the ecommerce game is changing so fast, that Lundgren feels it’s something Macy’s.com needs to stay on top of.

“We’re just getting going, and I say that every year but I mean that every year,” Lundgren said during a reception held by the National Retail Federation on Monday, in conjunction with NRF’s Convention & Expo. “As soon as we get it figured out, there’s more technology out there that we’re going to be able to learn about and jump on and respond to.”

Macy’s has seen strong growth in its online channel. In the first 10 months of fiscal 2010, its online sales at Macy’s were up by about 29% compared with the same period last year. This is in addition to growth of about 20% in fiscal 2009 and 29% in fiscal 2008.

In response to that growth, Macy’s last year announced it would boost its ecommerce presence and add about 725 positions over the next two years to support its sites.

Though the ecommerce team is still growing, Lundgren said he felt his technology team was making all the right moves.

“You have to be real smart about what technology to invest in, because there’s a million apps and a thousand ideas and I think if you’re going to be smart with technology,” Lundgren said. “You have to invest in the things that are really going to further your business, and that you can build on as opposed to getting technology that’s going to be outdated next year.”

What’s next for Macy’s? Lundgren says the retailer is looking to bring some online elements to its bricks and mortar locations, and has been conducting some in-store tests.

For example, in the fall, Macy’s became the first department store location to include Google Payments, so customers can synch Google Wallet and use their smartphones to pay for merchandise.