Image: Facebook Business

Facebook delivers digital brands to the Market @ Macy’s for Christmas

Macy’s and Facebook are teaming up to create pop-up space for digital brands at the department store’s busiest locations throughout the holiday season. Yesterday, the retailer and the social media giant announced the opening of pop-up shops inside nine stores featuring the Market @ Macy’s concept.

A total of 100 e-commerce brands including Two Blind Brothers, Love Your Melon, Bespoke Post and Charleston Gourmet Burger Company will gain exposure to consumers through the Market @ Macy’s located in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, San Francisco and Seattle.

The retailer plans to drive customers to its Market @ Macy’s pop-up at its Herald Square flagship in Manhattan with a three-week ad campaign running in Grand Central Station.  The campaign will feature brands on display in the store.

Two Blind Brothers, a non-profit business founded by brothers Bradford and Bryan Manning who were diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a childhood version of Macular Degeneration, produces ultra-soft clothing to raise funds for blindness research.

https://www.facebook.com/marketing/videos/543052536107589/

“Touch is such an important sense and why softness is a hallmark of our brand. For Two Blind Brothers and the majority of businesses participating, the experience will allow consumers to experience our brands and quality in a physical store for the first time ever,” said Bradford Manning.

The Market @ Macy’s pop-up will change the sales dynamic for Two Blind Brothers. Visitors to the brand’s website know that it is “blacked out.” Three price points – $32, $69 and $89 – appear on the screen, but no photo or product description is displayed. Instead, customers are asked to “trust” Shop Blind with their purchase in “the same way we place our trust in others to accomplish everyday tasks many often take for granted.”

New York City-based Bespoke Post is another digital brand that will be opening a physical retail space for the first time. The brand delivers 20 new themed boxes with curated goods on a monthly basis. Developed for men, Bespoke Post costs $45 a month for subscribers and $55 for individual retail purchases. The goods within each box are valued at over $70.

“We take a lot of care in creating one-of-a-kind box experiences that end up being the perfect all-in-one gift for guys,” said Rishi Prabhu, co-founder of Bespoke Post. “So, we’re excited to be a part of this experience to expand our reach into retail and have a presence at ‘America’s Largest Department Store’ this holiday season.” 

BrainTrust

"I’m sure one or more of the brands will break out and grow at rates not otherwise possible without this partnership. Go Macy’s!"

David Weinand

Chief Customer Officer, Incisiv


"Long-term it could spark a relationship that creates loyal customers for the e-commerce brands, but I don’t see it doing the same for Macy’s."

Evan Snively

Director of Planning & Loyalty, Moosylvania


"Macy’s is showing us that they seek uniqueness in a sea of sameness across department stores. "

Ricardo Belmar

Retail Transformation Thought Leader, Advisor, & Strategist


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will the addition of digital brands such as Two Blind Brothers, Love Your Melon, Bespoke Post and Charleston Gourmet Burger Company create excitement and bring customers to Market @ Macy’s locations over the holidays? Do you see some of the digital brands displayed breaking out as a result of the exposure they receive in Macy’s busiest stores?

Poll

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Chris Petersen, PhD.
Member
5 years ago

When millions of items are just a click away, customers crave uniqueness. Limited supply peaks even more interest. What a great opportunity for bespoke-type digital brands to get customer exposure. Macy’s has a great opportunity to be first and unique in offering this “phygital” experiment. And Facebook gets its toe in the water as “broker” and platform. There are all kinds of questions about whether this will scale. The best part is that it is highly measurable, digitally and physically. The worst that can happen is that the brands, Macy’s and Facebook, walk away with a ton of learning and insights.

Ian Percy
Member
Reply to  Chris Petersen, PhD.
5 years ago

“…customers crave uniqueness.” is THE secret of a good marketing strategy and even more so when one is trying to influence buying behaviour in a foreign country. (See what I did with the spelling there?) I’m referring to the other RetailWire item today about L.L.Bean expanding into Canada. Insightful as always Chris!

David Weinand
Active Member
5 years ago

Uniqueness and experience are today’s currency for brick-and-mortar retailers and we’ve profiled several of Macy’s initiatives in this forum over the last few months. I know they placing a LOT of their future strategy on the marketplace “retail as a service” concept so this is a natural evolution for the brand. With the campaigns and the PR, I do think this will drive traffic and, yes, I’m sure one or more of the brands will break out and grow at rates not otherwise possible without this partnership. Go Macy’s!

Shawn Harris
Member
5 years ago

The biggest threat to Amazon, besides regulation, is Facebook owning the customer and partner retailers owning the product and fulfillment; through even more partners. This is a great first step by Facebook, I mean Macy’s.

Sterling Hawkins
Reply to  Shawn Harris
5 years ago

It is a great concept. I’m with Shawn that Facebook and partners are on to something here. It’s markedly different than the Amazon juggernaut. And as customers are looking for new and unique products and experiences this holiday season, Facebook and Macy’s fit the bill.

Evan Snively
Member
5 years ago

Long-term it could spark a relationship that creates loyal customers for the e-commerce brands, but I don’t see it doing the same for Macy’s. For them it is about keeping their brand top-of-mind for the next two months and then — more importantly — as Chris already pointed out, will come the valuable insights gained about if/how/when this type of partnership experience model should be utilized in the future.

Ricardo Belmar
Active Member
5 years ago

Macy’s is showing us that they seek uniqueness in a sea of sameness across department stores. This is a great attempt to bring curated, specialized, digital brands into the physical store to drive foot traffic into their stores. Since they’re placing them in stores already driving traffic, I suspect the win here for Macy’s will be an expected uplift in sales from other adjacent merchandise. Facebook will surely learn a lot from the data gathered and the brands themselves that are featured will learn more about their customers and how to further improve and develop their products. This should be a win-win-win for all involved!

Patricia Vekich Waldron
Active Member
5 years ago

I think the digital brands have much more potential for upside (for exposure and sales) than their host, Macy’s!

Lee Kent
Lee Kent
Member
5 years ago

Today’s consumer loves new and unique experiences. This is an excellent way to give them access to new brands and a twist to the shopping experience. Kudos to Macys and Facebook. For my 2 cents.