Macy's

Website Design, Digital + Print Advertising

Macy’s department store has over 800 locations nationwide and Visit Macy’s (the Tourism Marketing & Development branch of Macy’s) offers events and special city-based programs for their international and out-of-town customers.

The Challenge

Core Objectives

In the past, Visit Macy’s had implemented various projects to improve its existing website, but they lacked an overarching point of view or cohesive strategy. Limited content types were obscuring visitor opportunities (store experiences, dining options and discounts) and burying major content. The core objectives were twofold: Rebrand to enhance the tourism organization’s identity and better distinguish it from the retail-oriented parent company, and Rebuild the existing site to give it a more integrated and flexible structure with booking functionality linked to present CRM systems. The end goal was to boost global visitation; help domestic and international users discover, explore and engage with site content; and fuel conversions to store visits and purchases, and greater participation in Macy’s events and experiences.

By analyzing Visit Macy’s needs and drivers, we designed fresh branding concepts and a new site structure, components, functionality, content types, navigation and tagging taxonomy that would provide visitors with the greatest exposure to touristic offerings and keep them moving through the site to discover yet more.

Two-Phase Approach

Main Website Needs: Macy’s Retail Locations, Savings Opportunities, Special Events and Style Trends, Dining Options, Visitor Services and Programs Phase I involved analysis, re-branding and rebuilding the site. Phase II involved implementation of various site refinements and scaling the features and content. We determined that a component-based, responsive Drupal website with various new content types and a new navigational and tagging structure would give the organization an ideal platform for presenting content.

Design & Execution

The new website employs a buoyant, friendly tone and a vibrant color palette that evokes both the parent brand and the joyous, memory-making experiences associated with Macy’s events. The primary color palette pulls from the Macy’s brand kit, while adding additional neutral colors to balance out the weight of Macy’s signature bright red. The designs of the header, carousel, side image and 3-up content block elements were inspired by price tags found on all Macy’s merchandise, and nod to the brand as a shopping destination.

Component-based Design

The new design isn’t just visually pleasing. The component-based layout, content types and tagging structure give content creators the flexibility to mix and match elements to present different types of initiatives, associate them with the cities and stores that offer them and tell stories in the best possible way. They also allow users to easily understand the site flow and digest content more effectively.

Wireframes & Functionality

The Result

The rebuilt site presents Visit Macy’s as visually engaging, uncluttered and fun—much like the stores and city destinations that are promoted within. Since the launch of the site, domestic and international visitors significantly increased and with the addition of booking functionality for store experiences, conversions have also ramped up.