Macy’s and Bloomie’s tailor the online experience

When a suit you buy at Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s doesn’t fit exactly as you’d like, getting it fixed right is a pretty straightforward proposition. The associate will hand it off to one of its tailors and, once the alterations are made, you’re all set. But what happens when you try to recreate the process online? Beginning later this month, the two chains have an answer for that after signing a deal with zTailors, the first (soon to be) nationwide network of on-demand digital tailors.

Former Men’s Wearhouse founder and CEO George Zimmer is behind zTailors and he’s seen to it that the process is simple. After making a purchase on macys.com or bloomingdales.com, customers schedule a visit from a tailor to their home or office. The clothes are altered and a tailor returns within a week to make sure the fit is right.

Initially, the program will be offered in the Los Angeles area, metro New York, San Diego and San Francisco as well as in the states of Florida, Oregon and Washington. Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, which will be the exclusive department store partners for zTailors, plan to have the service available at stores across the country by early fall.

zTailors

Photo: zTailors

"This is a great example of the outstanding omnichannel shopping experience we are delivering today at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s," said R.B. Harrison, Macy’s, Inc. chief omnichannel officer. "With zTailors, our online customers can receive the same professional and personalized service they have come to expect from our stores. For those customers who prefer to purchase online, this is a convenient way to look their best at a fraction of the cost of custom clothing."

"ZTailors was built on the premise that well-tailored clothes should be accessible to everyone," said Mr. Zimmer. "With a nationwide network of skilled and experienced tailors, zTailors fills an unmet need in the marketplace, providing expert craftsmanship and excellent, personalized service to both men and women, so they can look their best and be their best."

BrainTrust

"Sounds excellent as a new take on custom-tailored clothes in your home or office. However, in days gone by, the customer payed for the premium service. Who’s footing the bill for TWO trips made by a tailor (not a delivery dude) plus the work of tailoring?"

Ken Lonyai

Consultant, Strategist, Tech Innovator, UX Evangelist


"Where my head goes is to the tailor actually being an extension of a sales person in the shopper’s closet, home or office to recommend additional or replacement items to supplement the clothing presented for tailoring. The economics of it seem hard to overcome (how do you turn a profit?), but better minds than mine have been applied to this opportunity and hopefully will figure it out."

David Zahn

Owner ZAHN Consulting, LLC


Discussion Questions

What type of impact will the zTailors program have on online sales of clothing for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s? Do you see this service as moving more customers to buy clothes online rather than visiting stores?

Poll

8 Comments
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Bob Phibbs
Bob Phibbs
8 years ago

I just keep thinking, who pays for all the new freebies? Doorway tailors, same-day delivery, BOPIS, etc. It sure isn’t the customer — especially with all of Macy’s promotions — and as more stores adopt these policies, how are they positively impacting the bottom line?

Max Goldberg
Max Goldberg
8 years ago

zTailors is a natural extension of the shopping experience. And it could work, provided that the tailors are proficient, easy to schedule, complete the work as promised and are reasonably priced.

Buying clothes online is a bit of a crap shoot. The customer does not know how they will fit, unless similar items have been purchased before. Offering tailoring services with the purchase may reduce returns, which is good for retail and more satisfactory to consumers.

Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
8 years ago

I believe this is significant. Order online. Take care of the fitting in my home (or office) on my time schedule, at my convenience. What could be better?

Ken Lonyai
Ken Lonyai
8 years ago

Sounds excellent as a new take on custom-tailored clothes in your home or office. However, in days gone by, the customer payed for the premium service. Who’s footing the bill for TWO trips made by a tailor (not a delivery dude) plus the work of tailoring? Obviously zTailors has run some numbers, but until it’s known who pays how much for what, it — as with all these add-on services and conveniences of late — has to be fronted by the consumer somewhere in the process and it’s not known if the consumer will accept it.

David Zahn
David Zahn
8 years ago

My assessment is that the roving tailor idea works better for clothing that has been previously purchased and now may need to be tailored due to weight loss/gain or shortening of lapels or other “fashion trend” nuance.

Where my head goes is to the tailor actually being an extension of a sales person in the shopper’s closet, home or office to recommend additional or replacement items to supplement the clothing presented for tailoring.

The economics of it seem hard to overcome (how do you turn a profit?), but better minds than mine have been applied to this opportunity and hopefully will figure it out.

Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
8 years ago

I just related this discussion to my wife: in particular the results on the poll which had men more likely than women to use the service. She said, “Are you kidding? I would use this in a heartbeat. This is fantastic. A tailor would come to my home. WOW! I hate dealing with a tailor.”

Bill Hanifin
Bill Hanifin
8 years ago

George Zimmer was famous for saying, “you’re going to like the way you look.” Now that look can presumably be obtained through this online/offline combination of service delivery.

Consumers can access zTailors directly, therefore the impact it will have on Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s may be limited unless some form of exclusivity is established.

Searching the zTailors site, it appears they have assembled their tailors through a qualification process. Let’s hope they haven’t done so to the detriment of the local tailors in each market.

Arie Shpanya
Arie Shpanya
8 years ago

This is a great idea that will relieve some of the tension when it comes to online shopping. I agree with Max in that online shopping can be tricky when you aren’t exactly sure what size will work best. I don’t think it will necessarily get more shoppers online, but it will greatly improve the online shopping experience and could even help improve loyalty for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.