Macy's: Marketers Should Defend Data Use But Show Restraint

Macy's sees plenty of value in data-driven marketing and believes consumers should hear more from marketers about the benefits. But that doesn't mean the retailer will be secretly tracking shoppers by their mobile phone signals and linking the data with their transactions and home addresses. Speaking yesterday at the D2 Digital Dialogue conference in Cincinnati, Julie Bernard, the retailer's senior vice president, customer strategy, said marketers should speak up more often and forcefully to defend data use and counter negative media coverage. But she said they also need to show restraint.