Macy’s launched its marketplace format last September after noticing consumers searching the retailer’s website for products and categories that weren’t there, in particular electronics, toys, pets, home, kids and maternity. The digital marketplace helps learning and testing new categories without the inventory risk. Macy’s marketplace is attracting younger customers, generating larger baskets in terms of units per order, and 96% of marketplace customers are tapping into ‘broader Macy’s,’ meaning they are shopping what Macy’s has traditionally bought wholesale and listed on its website. Bloomingdale’s division should launch its own online marketplace format next year. On the wholesale side, Macy’s is fundamentally changing the way it buys. They have an integrated team, looking at thinking end-to-end, putting in one room the merchants, the planners, the supply chain team and the finance team all discussing about where the company should be. Before, price promotions were at the same level at each store. Now with pricing science, markdowns can be done ‘by store, by location, by style, and we can actually drive pricing decisions based on the availability of inventory, etc. Macy’s is making capital investments in personalization, pricing science and the loyalty program, in addition to digital marketplaces.