MACY’S TAKES STAKE IN TECH RETAILER B8TA, EXPANDS POP-UP MARKETPLACE

Macy’s has announced an evolution of its commercial partnership with technology powered retailer b8ta. As part of its strategic focus on enhancing the in-store customer experience, the company will leverage b8ta’s software platform to scale The Market @ Macy’s, becoming strategic partners in this ‘retail-as-a-service’ model. The Market @ Macy’s is the company’s experiential retail concept launched earlier this year. Macy’s has also acquired a minority equity stake in b8ta.

“Macy’s is in the experience business. We’re always looking for new formats that allow our customers to discover and connect with our products and services in-store in a way that drives engagement with our brand,” said Hal Lawton, president of Macy’s. “We’re pleased to deepen our partnership with b8ta that will provide the technology engine for The Market @ Macy’s. This will allow us to scale The Market @ Macy’s concept faster, furthering our goal of bringing more excitement and fresh experiences into our stores.”

Launched in February 2018, The Market @ Macy’s, currently open at 10 Macy’s locations nationwide, helps emerging and established brands reach new audiences. Each shop brings customers a rotating selection of unique offerings in apparel, accessories, beauty, entertainment, experiences, decorative home, stationary, technology, and gifts.

b8ta will customize its technology platform for Macy’s, providing brands a seamless and more automated experience when signing up to participate in The Market @ Macy’s. The customized software platform will serve as the driver for managing the rotating brands and experiences and scaling The Market @ Macy’s concept to new locations. In addition, b8ta’s ability to attract new products in the home and consumer electronics space will provide a big opportunity for bringing exciting new product categories to select Macy’s stores.

Over the next year, The Market @ Macy’s will test new size format spaces powered by b8ta’s technology and will expand the size of some of the existing pilot locations. Plans for future growth of the concept powered by b8ta are underway.

“At b8ta, we believe physical retail will thrive as a platform for discovering new products and brands,” added Vibhu Norby, CEO of b8ta. “Macy’s was the best partner for b8ta to scale our pioneering retail-as-a-service model to a breadth of categories like apparel, beauty, home, and more. With b8ta’s software platform and business model, product makers can go from solely selling online to launching their products with Macy’s in a few clicks. Our platform makes it easy for makers to deploy, manage, analyze, and scale amazing offline retail experiences.”

The partnership with b8ta along with the recent acquisition of Story, is the latest example of Macy’s strategy to evolve its stores with more experience-based concepts and create a portfolio of unique relationships that will drive customer engagement across its store base.