Luxury retail bellwether Nordstrom saw ecommerce growth of 5% to more than $1 billion in the first quarter of 2020, while overall sales dropped nearly 40% as COVID-19 locked down its retail side, the company reported. Nordstrom is also evolving its model to focus more on off price locations and ecommerce than mall stores.
Nordstrom told analysts its ecommerce sales and omnichannel operations are performing well, but acknowledged the gains are coming at a significant cost. See where the costs are hitting, and some of the steps the company is taking to address them and recover losses in profitability.
Nordstrom reported tremendous success with its online off-price business which saw a sales growth of 50% in the first quarter. See what other growth initiatives are planned for Nordstrom.
Nordstrom saw a 30% increase in its direct-to-customer sales, which built upon last year’s 31% increase. The direct-to-customer increase was driven by expanded merchandise selection and ongoing technology investments to enhance the customer experience.