Macy’s, Nordstrom buck the traffic trend for department stores

Fast Facts

• Nordstrom saw a 3.3% rise in store visits and 4.1% in visits per location
• Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s had modest traffic gains but weaker averages per store
• Belk experienced an 11% year-over-year drop in Q1 visits, the biggest decline in Placer.ai‘s report
• April 2025 brought improved traffic for JCPenney, Belk, and Dillard’s

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Most department stores experienced a decline in store visits during the first quarter, whether they were high-end or moderately priced.

Just 3 of the 8 department stores tracked in Placer.ai‘s most recent report saw positive store traffic during the period from January through March 2025: Nordstrom, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

Among the high-end department stores, only Nordstrom gained in both overall store visits (+3.3%) and average visits per location (+4.1%), according to Placer.ai’s “Department Stores in 2025” report.

Although Macy’s overall in-store traffic ticked up 1.1% during the period, its average visits per store were flattish, down 0.2%. Similarly, Bloomingdale’s overall number was up 2.7% while average visits per store fell 2.2%.

“As consumer budgets continue to react to the strain of rising prices, department stores are experiencing mixed visitation patterns. While luxury shoppers have, in some cases, been more insulated from the effects of inflation and rising costs, visits to high-end department stores have not been spared from this overall volatility,” the location analytics firm noted in the report.

The first quarter of the calendar year was particularly tough for Belk, which saw year-over-year traffic drop nearly 11%.

Results for the first month of the second quarter of the calendar year show improvement for some department stores.

“April visits offered a more positive outlook, with Belk and JCPenney, in particular, showing elevated visits in all but one week of April 2025. Dillard’s also displayed promising visitation patterns, with weekly visits up for two weeks of April,” Placer.ai reported.

Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s traffic in April also improved “for the most part,” it said.