While JCPenney saw some solid ecommerce gains pre-pandemic, it has struggled to keep that momentum going in the months that followed. The retailer’s market share not only fell significantly—and remained down—as its advances were dwarfed by competitors who proved to be more adept at ecommerce, but the company also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy mid-May, along with plans to close roughly a third of its 846 stores within the next two years.

There is a running list of retailers that sought Chapter 11 protection, including JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and J.Crew, and more will likely follow. But the more dominant players like Walmart, Target and Best Buy are only getting bigger. For one, some have remained open during the pandemic, which is no doubt a huge upside.

Even as big-box retailers like Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, JCPenney and Pier 1 all reported catastrophic H1 performances, announced various store closures or declared bankruptcy, other retailers with more nimble tactics successfully pivoted to digital-centric omnichannel approaches that are now paying major dividends.

On the negative side, department store retailers JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and Macy’s have hit hard times, and their ecommerce performance has failed to make up ground for brick-and-mortar. The first two have prepared bankruptcy filings, while Macy’s is the only one of the top 10 ecommerce companies whose sales we expect to see dip this year, declining 5.1% to $6.70 billion.

Department stores like Macy’s, Kohl’s and JCPenney continued to struggle as mall foot traffic declined. What is the forecast for holiday sales in 2020? We predict the 2020 holiday season will see overall growth rates soften amid signs of a weakening consumer economy.

With shopping center traffic still down more than 20% year over year into October, according to Placer.ai, retailers with a significant mall presence—especially department stores like Macy's, JCPenney, and Nordstrom—will be challenged.

Meanwhile, several department stores and mall anchors like JCPenney, Macy’s, Sears and Kohl’s struggled to capture the same momentum. WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report includes a review of the US 2018 holiday season and an early preview of the 2019 holidays, including our latest US retail and ecommerce spending forecast.

As a former global CMO of human resources consulting firm Mercer and marketing lead for Nook by Barnes & Noble and JCPenney, Mullen's tenures have shaped her understanding and approach to the diverse responsibilities of a CMO. She spoke with us about what it takes to be the first person in that position at a company, the four types of CMOs, and why she considers herself a "hybrid.".

JCPenney led spending on Black Friday national TV ads, with $13.4 million (-19% YoY, though), followed by Lowes ($13.1 million, +41% YoY) and The Home Depot ($10.8 million, +28% YoY) [Kantar]. Halloween (October 31). What gets spent:. Total of $9.0 billion spending expected in 2018 [National Retail Federation]. How consumers shop:.

“Sears and JCPenney, in particular, were really built around the great, 'thriving American middle class,' department-store-shopper dynamic. The market has changed, where a smaller group of consumers shop at one set of stores, and the other 80% of middle-class consumers act in a more value-oriented way.

A number of other retailers also got into the act with coinciding promotions, including Best Buy, Macy’s and JCPenney. Where did Prime Day buyers ultimately compare prices? According to a survey by InfoScout, Walmart was the top beneficiary, cited by 24% of respondents. Target (14%) and Best Buy (9%) were next, while nearly half said they did not compare prices at other merchants.

Additionally, Bon-Ton Stores (9.1%), Macy's (8.0%), JCPenney (4.5%), Neiman Marcus (2.7%) and Nordstrom (1.0%) all experienced decreases while Kohl's remained flat. The segments opening the most stores this year is very telling.

News this week of Sears filing for bankruptcy protection wasn't exactly a shock to anyone. According to a new Adthena study that looked into how digital commerce competition affected Sears, the retailer fared poorly compared with its counterparts.