From: ASAP
Remote Name: 216.57.26.250
Federated Direct, the direct-to-customer subsidiary of Federated Department Stores, Inc. (NYSE:FD), today announced the relaunch of its macys.com web site.
The completely redesigned site offers customers access to an expanded collection of leading designer boutiques, as well as a selection of entirely new, powerful and integrated shopping tools that make it easier than ever to select and accessorize apparel, compare products and give gifts. Based on extensive customer research and feedback, macys.com also has broadened its online customer service options and company information sections.
"Our customers visit macys.com for the brands they know and trust. The site's expanded shopping tools provide dramatic new ways for customers to manage and enrich their shopping experience and make informed choices, much like they do in-store," said Jeffrey Sherman, chairman and CEO of Federated Direct. "With the improvements we have made to macys.com, our customers can enjoy even greater access to the best of Macy's online, whether they are choosing the perfect gift or purchasing items from their favorite premium brand."
The global navigation of macys.com has been refined to allow customers to easily access the new shopping tools, online boutiques and other site features. A quick registration process enables customers to personalize various aspects of the site and receive information via email on the latest in-store and online events and offers.
"Federated Direct is committed to growing its Internet business as part of Federated's overall multichannel retail strategy," said Dawn Robertson, president of Federated Direct. "The relaunch of macys.com is one example of how we continue to build, strengthen, and embrace the retail opportunities the Internet enables. Federated is poised to maximize the online channel as we evaluate and continue strategic investments, vendor partnerships and technological advancements."
Designer Boutiques
macys.com has closely collaborated with the industry's most respected designers to introduce eight co-branded online boutiques that include Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne, Kenneth Cole, Jones New York and Lancome. Customers can now turn to macys.com to experience and purchase all of their favorite status brands, just as they can in-store. Each boutique has been carefully developed with the vendors to reflect the best merchandise with the style and branding of the designer. In cosmetics, macys.com has created the exclusive Lancome boutique, which is an innovative syndication of the Lancome.com site.
Personalized Shopping Tools
The redesigned macys.com site introduces three major new shopping features that assist customers in selecting apparel and coordinating accessories, communicating online gift ideas and comparing similar products by price or feature. All of these tools are integrated to expand overall functionality, ease of use and improved navigation.
My Macy's Closet
My Macy's Closet is a sophisticated wardrobing tool and outfit generator that allows customers to mix and match apparel and accessories to create outfits and clothing ensembles. As customers browse macys.com, they can click on a product and add the item to their personalized My Macy's Closet, which is available after a simple site registration process.
Once in My Macy's Closet, users can drag images of products from the closet's "rack", which holds up to 100 items, to a virtual fitting room workspace. Beside each image are three icons: 1) add to shopping bag, 2) add to Wish List or 3) view product description. As customers combine clothing items with various accessories, the closet keeps a running total of all products in the fitting room, tabulating the cost of selected items. Customers can also save "views" of outfits and return to them later, or add the entire outfit to their shopping bag in one click. My Macy's Closet uses advanced dynamic inventory management to ensure that the tool only presents in-stock items.
Wish Lists
macys.com customers can now create electronic Wish Lists to manage and share online gift ideas. Wish Lists can be compiled item by item as customers browse the site or by adding entire outfits from My Macys's closet. Once the lists are saved they can be sent via email to family and friends as a list of web site links. Users can create, save and send multiple Wish Lists of gift suggestions for themselves or others around holidays and special occasions - greatly simplifying the online gift-giving process. Personalized Wish Lists are available after customers register with the site.
Comparison-Shopping
Macy's expert buyers and merchants have collaborated to create a powerful comparison-shopping tool. This new feature dramatically simplifies the process of making price, quality and features comparisons by allowing a shopper to select items and view a side- by-side comparison of related and comparable items with one mouse click. The comparison-shopping tool is also integrated with the macys.com search functionality, enabling customers to create a side-by-side comparison of items selected from their keyword search results.
Improved Customer Service
macys.com has gathered extensive research and feedback from customer email, focus groups and customer service representatives to create a detailed help section that answers commonly asked questions and clearly explains how to use every feature on the site. Customers can access specific information on site security, product returns and online shopping by clicking the related links seen on each page. An authoritative glossary also has been created to provide definitions on fashion and houseware terms such as acetate, bone china, chemise and stemware.
Customers can access a streamlined store locator to find addresses, maps and phone numbers of retail stores. This service is vital to the multichannel strategy as it also drives in-store traffic and sales. Approximately 25,000 customers access information about local stores each month.
"We have carefully evaluated available online shopping technologies against customer feedback and research, as well as online and in-store shopping behavior, to introduce a more dynamic and customer-focused macys.com site," said Kent Anderson, president of Macy's Direct. "Macy's Direct management brings an enormous amount of retail experience to the site, and we are focused on selecting features that optimize the convenience of online shopping and build upon Macy's in-store heritage." Company Information
Extensive Macy's historical information, archival anecdotes, interesting facts and artwork from the company's legendary past are now available in the About Macy's section of the site. Company news releases also have been added.
[borders/disc4aftr.htm]