What: Macy’s announced a lower-than-expected Q4 2022 ahead of the release of the final results.

Why it is important: Even though numbers were in line for the holiday periods, the overall quarter did not reach the expectations due to a very quiet business in-between the celebrations. As other IADS members have noticed, the traffic pattern has significantly changed since 2020 and this will probably be visible in other retailer’s Christmas sales announcements to come.

Macy’s plans a Q4 2022 below its November forecast, as quarterly sales are expected to range in the low end to midpoint of the $8.16bn-$8.4bn initially planned bracket. Sales were unexpectedly slow during the non-holiday periods, even though Black Friday and Christmas were in line with expectations.

The overall outlook for 2023 is toned down according to the CEO, Jeff Gennette.

Macy’s cautious and conservative for 2023