The fact that Macy’s online sales growth is consistently on the rise may not be such a surprise, but the fact that they break down online sales growth alongside their same-store reports is.
Macy’s includes online growth in the same-store sales totals as well as breaking down the channel by itself – which is something that’s hard to compare with competitors, because most are not reporting online sales in their same-store sales numbers. Some tracking the retail industry, while they agree that these numbers are important, also agree that it is possible that inconsistent reporting throughout the industry could skew monthly sales data.
The shift in reports comes at a time when the industry is faced with significant hurdles like rising gas prices, a still-cloudy future for personal income growth and high unemployment numbers, and online sales have been steadily on the rise, providing retailers a positive point of focus for investors.
Do you think including online sales numbers in same-store reports skews numbers or is a necessity in the changing retail industry?
Source: CNBC.com, March 2011
