d customer experience at Nordstrom, explained.   “We have enhanced our search feature for seamless navigation, surfacing relevant product and brand recommendations based on past customer engagement and targeting customers with relevant inspirational trend and styling content. We will continue to build upon this throughout the year by listening to our customers and letting them inform our journey.”  Key brands available on the marketplace and new to Nordstrom include swimwear brand Dippin’ Daisy’s, luxury leather goods company Maison de Sabre luxury leather goods, and the running brand Tracksmith. Other brands joining Nordstrom via the marketplace are AdoreMe, Alala, Ana Luisa, Cynthia Rowley, Derek Lam, 10 Crosby, Deux Par Deux, Dia & Co, DXL, La DoubleJ, Natori and Onia. The marketplace includes a user-friendly interface designed to optimize the shopping process and personalized recommendations. Customers will also have access to Nordstrom’s legacy services, which include styling advice, alterations, and hassle-free returns. Nordstrom’s motives behind marketplace launch Digital growth has been a top priority at Nordstrom as of late, especially considering that digital accounted for 36 per cent, or approximately $5 billion, of Nordstrom’s total sales of $14.22 billion in 2023. The marketplace appears to be aimed at attracting more consumers to increase profit margins. Nordstrom’s net sales have fluctuated in recent quarters. In the retailer’s third-quarter earnings report last year, net sales dipped by 6.8 per cent to $3.2 billion. Net sales fell 6 per cent in FY23 to $14.2 billion. On top of prioritizing e-commerce, Nordstrom’s CEO Erik Nordstrom has stated that the company opened 19 new Nordstrom Rack locations in 2023 and plans to open an additional 22 Rack store by the end of 2024. Will the launch of Nordstrom’s marketplace prove fruitful? Managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData Neil Saunders noted that the online marketplace could enable Nordstrom to improve its offering in areas where it doesn’t have a strong presence, like home and gifting.  “It is also a cost-effective way of expanding choice without too much expense, capital outlay, or inventory risk. This includes in fashion,” he told Inside Retail.  However, Saunders questioned Nordstrom’s ability to compete with competitors like Macy’s and Hudson’s Bay, which have more than a two-year head start in the online marketplace space. “That said, the whole world and his wife have jumped on the marketplace trend, and it is not that much of a differentiator anymore. The theory is that by offering more choice you can get more customers and generate more sales. The problem is that choice is ubiquitous; consumers are awash with choice,” the retail expert explained. Saunders believes that Nordstrom can succeed if it provides consumers with a carefully curated assortment of meaningful items. “If it uses the marketplace to bring interesting new brands to the fore and really focused on things that are enticing to its customer base, then it could be a winning strategy. Much of this will depend on good execution, so the jury is still out on what Nordstrom can deliver,” he concluded.