It's no miracle, and it certainly isn't just confined to 34th Street. Macy's ($M) just hit a four-year peak for seasonal and retail hires, making it the latest retailer to double down on staffing up physical spaces at a time when e-commerce apps are out to take a bigger and bigger chunk of traditional retail's business. But it could be too little, too late.
Our first chart tracks seasonal and retail hiring at Macy's - and, just like a number of other top retailers in the US - Macy's holiday hiring is growing in 2019. Compared to 2018's peak, 2019 holiday hiring rose more than 11% at Macy's.
The second image should drive home how much holiday shoppers mean for all brick-and-mortar companies. For Macy's, its seasonal and retail holiday job postings amounted to nearly 80% of all job postings - which is what this chart tracks.
There are plenty of extenuating circumstances here, and Macy's isn't guaranteed smooth sailing through this shopping season by any means. Macy's challenges are more similar to that of JCPenney, which has also reduced its footprint, than that of Target, which is beating earnings expectations and lifting guidance as it hires more temp staff to cover its expanded real estate footprint.
Further, Macy's is still in the early stages of sorting out a Q4 hack that's certain to stir up more negative headlines around its cybersecurity than it needs heading into the prized holiday shopping season.
Macy's will announce its quarterly earnings on Thursday November 21; analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research are expecting EPS of $0.01. Shares have already fallen nearly 50% in 2019.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Starbucks social mentions soar on new cup design
- JCPenney's survival plan just might work
- Lowe's doubles down in all-out holiday staffing blitz
