Saving Department Stores: Strategic Changes in a Challenging Retail Environment

The retail department store industry has been in decline for years. Online shopping has become increasingly popular, and this was happening even before the pandemic. Department stores made the mistake years ago of focusing on expansion instead of improving their presence online. In this paper, I make recommendations to help retail department stores make more sales online, as well as get more shoppers back in their brick-and-mortar locations. There needs to be a new target customer that is much younger than the previous. Department stores need put money and time into building their social media platforms. These stores should be looking for several e-commerce brands to incorporate into their stores online, but more importantly in their brick-and-mortar locations. To grow bigger faster, department stores should start to consider using trusted third-party sellers like their biggest competitor Amazon does. Many younger people choose to shop from sustainable and socially responsible brands. Department stores should put in their best efforts to make sure they are caring about these things, not only to help make a change but to also increase their popularity among consumers. It is critical that large retail department stores use several influencers to promote their store and products among all forms of social media. This has become one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to increase sales. Finally, department stores should consider trying livestream shopping as a way to connect with their customers and sell more product. I have covered several ways that department stores can start to expand their business and begin to grow again. I believe these recommendations can transform the retail department store into possible something even more successful than it was before.