Consumers have embraced ecommerce as a simple, convenient way to purchase what they want/need without traveling to department stores (or any stores, for that matter). Consumers are still willing to travel to stores for exceptional deals and new, exciting merchandise at attractivr prices and experiences that theh can't obtain through other means. Costco is a destination for all of these reasons. Department stores need to think outside of the deal mentality and focus on trying to make their locations places for merchandise discovery and in store experiences that they can't obtain elsewhere. If they provide consumers with compelling reasons to visit, they will.

consumers still enjoy shopping in the real world but there needs to be an experience. while on line offers convenience and good price value, there are still many of consumers who want/need to touch and see a product. but too often the department stores lack in experience. they start to look the same. dressing rooms that are dingy, poor lighting, cluttered etc. department stores could benefit by reframing the objective to "we are providing a retail experience....what can we do to build our brand and delight consumers?" vs how do we combat/keep up with ecomm.

Agree with both above. I would add that to make department store visits people look forward to going to will require radical change to the instore experience. The questions c suite folks at department stores need to ask are "What would it take for consumers to look forward to going to deparment stores?" What kind of department store experience could be so good, so amazing, so magical that you would want to tell your friends about it?" What kind of department store experience would be so uniquly positive that customers would happily go to department stores to buy things even if they knew they might have to pay a little more - an experience so good that they would literally pay for it?" Examplea abound in other industries from Whole Foods to Apple. The question is how willing are department stores to do what it takes to invest in what it takes to create those experiences?

I agree completely with the comments about the in-store experience. The goal must be to make the shopping experience pleasureable. Christine's point about customers still wanting to touch and feel products is right on. That is a major advantage department stores have over online, and it can offset the perceived convenience of being able to shop from home. But department stores cannot undercut their own advantage by making it harder to shop brick and mortar in other ways. They must first start with the basic fundamentals of shopping. For too long, most department stores have crammed too much product onto the sales floor to the point of it being difficult to find and select an item, they have cut staffing levels to the point where lines at the cash registers are too long, and they have migrated their product assortment to private labels for which customers have no loyalty or sense of value. After department stores get the basic shopping experience right, they can begin to layer on the next level of the experience which will truly revolutionize the industry. Consider how AMC's dine-in theaters have changed the movie experience. The next level for department stores needs to use technology in creative ways and needs to create "adventures" which truly engage shoppers rather than simply sell to them.

There are multiple issues here involving the current trends in the department store sector: 1. disruption from new technolgies (mobile, eCommerce, new entries in the market (specialty stores)) 2. changes in management styles and priorities; 3. aging demographics; 4. political disruption in the global supply chain; 5. generational changes in lifestyle, shopping habits, taste level, fashion preferences; 6. deflatonary pricing pressure leading to declning sales and margin/profitability erosion from virtual free market competitiors like Amazon as well as cut throat competition within all brick's & mortar retailers. Briefly digging into each of points further:

1. Of course the ease, convenience, and power from the building out of the Internet; constantly improving smart mobile technolgies; and the availability of mobile accessibility has lead to the adoption of mobile eCommerce over the physical shopping experience at department stores.
2. Today, department stores decisionmakers are no longer the merchants but rather financial executives resulting in inferior product assortments and a poor shopping experience.
3. The critical factor driving the contraction in the department store sector is the aging Baby Boomers who are no longer driving sales upward with your descretionary spending on apparel, home store, cosmetics, accessories, footwear...
4. The political environment pushing Made in the USA over the most competitive prices and quality available globally can only hurt department store's competitiveness.
5. Generations X,Y, Z tend to shun department stores as their primary shopping experience preference.
6. Virtual shopping has introduced a more near perfect free market competition reatil environment where consumers have the opportunity to find the lowest prices and most selection which the fixed bricks & mortar dominated department stores can not offer for the most part.