‘The Market @ Macy’s’ Pops Up

As department stores reconsider their real estate and business models, Macy’s is testing out pop-up stores in 10 cities — from Las Vegas to New York — in a new concept named “The Market @ Macy’s,” CNBC reported.

Through the program, brands can pay a one-time fee for a space on Macy’s first floor to advertise or sell their products while retaining all of their sales. Compared to traditional pop-up stores, Macy’s own staff services the brands. And the retailer is flexible on timing: Brands can stay for as short a time period as a month.

While the pop-ups benefit brands with flexibility and staffing, they also benefit Macy’s. Through the pop-up stores, Macy’s can gain insights into customer preferences. And, of course, the promise of new products could drive customers to visit its stores.

“Overwhelmingly, what we think makes this so attractive for Macy’s and our customers is it continues to drive customers to stores by giving a constant break of discovery,” Marc Mastronardi, EVP of New Business Development and Innovation at Macy’s, told CNBC. “We have not [before] had a model in which we have provided [Macy’s retail service] to a really diverse set of categories coming into our space.”

Macy’s is hardly the only company seeking to offer pop-up space to brands. Simon Malls — with over 300 shopping centers nationwide — launched scalable space for brands in December called The Edit. Through this new retail space, brands can test-drive physical commerce in front of a live customer audience.

The goal of The Edit is to fix the old retail burdens that mall spaces often bear — inflexibility and expense — while delivering the mall’s benefits of customer foot traffic. The Edit is also pitched as a turnkey solution, meaning that everything from fixtures to security to displays to background music are on offer starting at a $500 per month price point.