# Macy's Herald Square spends big on Santaland refresh to pull families back in-store *The department store bets experiential anchors drive foot traffic and second visits when product alone won't.* By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC. Published 2026-10-24. Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/macys-2026-10-24t18-7 Subject: Macy's Tags: experiential retail, in-store events, customer retention, holiday marketing, physical retail --- Macy's reopened a revamped Santaland at its Herald Square flagship and brought back Holiday Square for the 2024 season, according to Retail Dive. The move doubles down on experiential retail as a defensive play against online shopping and declining mall traffic. The investment signals that physical retailers now treat in-store experiences as retention infrastructure, not seasonal decoration. The redesign overhauls the Santaland journey with new interactive elements, updated storytelling, and a refreshed photo opportunity with Santa. Holiday Square, a dedicated event space within the store, hosts rotating programming including performances, craft stations, and product demonstrations. Both installations are free to enter, requiring no purchase, and occupy premium square footage on the store's eighth and ninth floors. The mechanism works because it shifts the store visit from transactional to experiential. Families come for the event, stay longer, and convert at higher rates than shoppers who arrive with a single SKU in mind. The brand captures email and mobile opt-ins at registration, turning a single visit into a retargetable household. More importantly, the experience creates a reason to return: parents bring relatives, plan repeat visits, and post social proof that drives organic awareness in local markets. Macy's is not alone. Target, Nordstrom, and independent toy retailers have all expanded experiential footprints in the past **18 months**, per industry reporting. The pattern holds across categories: when the product is available cheaper or faster online, the physical space must offer something the internet cannot. A small physical-product brand can run the same play without leasing square footage in Midtown Manhattan. The principle is identical: create a reason to visit that exists independent of the transaction, then convert the visit into a relationship. Start with a pop-up event at a complementary retail partner or coworking space. If you sell kitchen tools, host a **60-minute** hands-on demo in a cooking school's off-hours. If you sell outdoor gear, run a weekend gear-packing clinic at a trailhead or park. The event is free, the product is present but not pushed, and you collect emails at check-in. Promote the event with **$200–$400** in geo-targeted Facebook and Instagram ads, a partnership post from the venue, and a simple Eventbrite page. Aim for **20–40** attendees. At the event, demonstrate the product in use, let people touch and test, and offer an exclusive discount code valid for **72 hours** post-event. Follow up with a two-email sequence: one thanking attendees with the code, one showcasing user-generated content from the event. The cost is modest—venue partnership or a few hundred in rental, small ad spend, your time—but the yield is high. Attendees convert at **3–5x** the rate of cold traffic because they've experienced the product and met the founder. You capture **30–50** qualified emails per event, and the social content extends reach beyond the room. The broader pattern: as acquisition costs rise and online channels saturate, physical experience becomes a moat. Macy's is defending its flagship. You're building a reason for a stranger to become a customer, then an advocate. ## The takeaway Free experiential events turn foot traffic into retargetable relationships and convert at multiples of cold digital traffic. --- ## Publisher **Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339. Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**. - Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about - LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt - MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp - Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/ - Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands