Macy’s predicting higher sales as shoppers return to stores

The CEO of Macys says the chain expects to see a retail sales boom hit U.S. stores as Americans venture out of isolation amid the growing availability of COVID-19 vaccines.

Reuters reported that Jeff Gennette told analysts that the department store chain believes that demand for in-person shopping experiences has been “pent up” through the COVID-19 pandemic and added that he expects the resulting surge of sales opportunities to last for a while.

“As the weather warms up and vaccines are more readily available, customers are feeling increasingly confident to get dressed up and venture outside. They’re also starting to attend events again,” he said, adding: “We don’t see this as a short-term pop. There are pent-up demand opportunities.”

The chain said this week that it was forecasting sales between $21.73 billion and $22.23 billion this year, higher than previously forecasted in February.

Tuesday’s news presents a markedly-better situation for the company and the retail sector in general than the U.S. was seeing just 12 months ago at the height of the first wave of shutdowns and COVID-19 cases across the country.

Last year, it was predicted by Green Street Advisors that half of malls in the U.S. with so-called anchor retail businesses, usually large department stores such as Macys, could see those “anchors” shut down by the end of 2021.