Is JCPenney.com growing at a faster pace than Amazon.com? Not really. But based on its new sales reporting methodology, its online sales are growing at a faster pace than Amazon.
JCPenney said May 15 that its comparable store sales in the first quarter rose 7.4 %, which includes online sales that grew 25.7 % over the same period last year. In comparison, Amazon’s first-quarter sales, announced Apr. 24, grew 23%.
However, before we throw a ticker-tape parade outside JCPenney’s Plano, TX corporate offices, let’s look at total sales: Amazon’s first-quarter sales were $19.74 billion, while JCPenneys’ first-quarter sales – which include bricks-and-mortar and direct sales, were $2.8 billion.
JCPenney did not provide a dollar breakdown for its ecommerce sales. But during its first-quarter earnings call, JCPenney CEO Mike Ullman acknowledged the importance of ecommerce as a part of its omnichannel strategy.
“Our associates at stores continue to do a great job helping our customers find additional sizes, styles and colors that she needs online at JCPenney.com,” Ullman said. “We can complete their online order right at the point of sales and ship the goods to their home or back to their favorite J.C. Penney store for free.”
What is JCPenney’s new sales reporting methodology? Going forward, the company said it will simplify its same store sales calculation to better reflect year-over-year comparability. Certain items, such as sales return estimates and liquidation sales, will now be excluded from JCPenneys’ same store sales calculation.