When Macy’s Closes A Store, Dillard’s Local Market Share Doubles

Macy’s is closing 68 stores this year, giving competitors like Dillard’s and Kohl’s a chance to grab more share in the market. The only drawback is that they have to be patient and wait for those customers. According to foot traffic data from Foursquare traffic, competitors don’t immediately benefit from the loss of a store, but the shoppers do. Foursquare did a deep dive into shopper traffic to see what happens when a retailer like Macy’s or Kmart closes locations. They chose these chains because they haven’t shut down entirely like The Limited or Wet Seal. Like Macy’s, Kmart is planning on closing 108 locations this year, but they will also leave some stores open. As expected, Macy’s and Kmart close-out sales in 2016 attracted lots of shoppers. Some were loyal customers, but a large amount were what Foursquare dubbed opportunists. Over 80% of both the Kmart shoppers and Macy’s shoppers visited only because they could get good deals during the store closing sales. The opportunists also turned out to be mostly millennials and men, whereas the typical customers for the big chains tended to be women over the age of 35. The millennials may like to shop online, but if there is a good bargain, they’ll make the trip to a physical store. Read more at Forbes.