Copyright The Street
With the holidays fast approaching, retailers are doing everything in their power to stand out during the busiest shopping season of the year. As the retail industry navigates economic uncertainty and slowing consumer spending, brands are launching major sales events and marketing campaigns to attract customers. While the promotions help value-conscious consumers stretch their tight budgets amid rising prices, they also intensify the competition and challenge rivals to keep up. Five years after emerging from bankruptcy and mass store closures, JCPenney appears to be taking a page from one of Macy’s most well-known strategies, despite the latter retailer’s ongoing struggles. JCPenney will debut the first-ever official iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 29-piece apparel collection in partnership with iHeartRadio’s long-running holiday concert series. The line is now available online, and shoppers can even enter to win prizes by uploading a photo of their receipt to iHeartRadio’s website. “Wallets are stretched and the pressure to ‘do it all’ is real during the holidays. To help customers get the most out of the season, JCPenney is doubling down on access to holiday gifts that fit every body and every budget,” wrote JCPenney in a press release. The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, now in its 30th year, is a holiday music event, featuring top artists and touring ten major cities in 2025, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, and Miami. This collaboration is a strategic move for JCPenney to boost both brand awareness and sales. The concert series attracted 12 million viewers and listeners across iHeartRadio’s Top 40 stations and Hulu in 2024, up 26% from the previous year, according to Barrett Media. But JCPenney isn’t stopping there. The retailer is also returning its Black Friday Early Access on November 8 and Daily Deals from November 10 through 20. Really Big Deals will also continue to drop each Thursday through Christmas Day. JCPenney’s marketing investments pay off JCPenney reports steady progress, despite industry headwinds. The company says both in-store and online traffic have increased throughout the year, with customer trip frequency rising for 15 consecutive months. The Beauty segment achieved double-digit growth, while Home and Fine Jewelry also performed well. While traditionally favored by older shoppers, JCPenney is now gaining market share among the younger generations, a key step toward gaining cultural relevance and ensuring sustainable growth. Recent marketing efforts have focused on entertainment and social media platforms. The retailer’s “Yes, JCPenney” campaign in April included billboards in Times Square, TV spots during the NBA postseason, a recurring sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and targeted social media content. Thanks to this campaign, ad awareness increased 10% the following month, and Gen Z interest nearly doubled in the second quarter, according to YouGov. Meanwhile, Macy’s has long been known for throwing the most iconic annual events, blending retail and entertainment to drive visibility and foot traffic. While JCPenney’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball collaboration and other marketing campaigns may not exactly parallel time-honored Macy’s events such as its Thanksgiving Day Parade, they share a bold, public style that’s likely to increase brand recognition. “With growing traffic, deeper loyalty engagement, and a surge of enthusiasm from younger shoppers, our momentum is real. It’s what allows us to offer truly memorable gifts at an incredible value,” wrote JCPenney. JCPenney has financially struggled JCPenney has spent the past several years working to recover from financial challenges. However, its footprint continues to shrink. The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020, citing the Covid pandemic, although the company hadn’t been profitable for the last 10 years. JCPenney secured $450 million in financing while restructuring operations. It was eventually acquired by Simon Property Group (SPG) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) for $1.75 billion, transferring ownership of its retail and operational assets. More Retail Strategies: Target’s next CEO finds a bold solution to alarming sales declines Macy’s makes its biggest move yet to rival Amazon Dick’s Sporting Goods partners with Lululemon rival At the time, JCPenney closed over 200 stores nationwide. A separate entity, Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust, assumed ownership of 160 retail properties and six warehouses as part of the reorganization. Earlier this year, the company shuttered seven additional stores and sealed a $947 million all-cash deal with Onyx Partners Ltd. to transfer the ownership of 119 locations. Today, JCPenney operates 650 stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Macy’s annual events strategy to boost growth Over the years, Macy’s well-known events have helped maintain the brand’s relevance. Macy’s popular events Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Santaland at Macy’s Herald Square Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Macy’s Flower Show Last year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reached a record 31.3 million viewers across NBC and its streaming service Peacock. Despite their popularity, even the massive investments in these events haven’t been enough to prevent Macy’s from suffering industry challenges. In the second quarter of 2025, its net sales declined 2.5% year over year. Over the past decade, Macy’s closed over a third of its stores and consolidated multiple distribution and logistics centers in an effort to streamline operations. “There’s a lot of skepticism about the department store model. It’s a model that doesn’t work anymore realistically,” said Morningstar senior equity analyst David Swartz in a 2025 interview. “Macy’s is dealing with a business that was built for a completely different retail environment. Macy’s is having to transform how it operates and having to downsize considerably to work in this market.” “And it’s not clear that those actions will be enough to really turn it around. But I do think that there’s value in Macy’s, in that there’s value in the stock right now, and that there is a place for Macy’s in retail,” he added.
