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The creative economy is growing, and as the segment continues to evolve and mature, marketers have steadily increased their investments in this sector. For Macy’s, this meant expanding the Style Crew affiliate marketing program, an effort that currently includes more than 600 influencers and is expected to grow to a total of 1,000 members.
Macy’s Style Crew first launched in 2017 as an employee ambassador program with 20 members, but 2020 expanded to welcome external creators. The program will help Macy’s connect with its audience on the platforms popular for creator content and beyond, serving as another way for the brand to strengthen its identity beyond the tentpole events for which it has become synonymous.
“Macy’s really has an emotional element: We produce the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Fourth of July fireworks,” said Andrea Port, Macy’s senior director of social media content and influencer marketing. “People feel good about the experiences we have, and we want them to feel that every day.”
Enhancements to the Style Crew are intended to help Macy’s keep pace with an increasingly competitive maker landscape while capitalizing on renewed interest in affiliate marketing, a space that is expected to continue to exist. double-digit growth this year to $13.2 billion in US marketing spend. Recent updates from the brand include the launch of maker storefronts on macys.com, 12% commission rates and increased access to exclusive events.
The program saw significant year-over-year growth through 2025, including 30% to 40% conversion growth among top creators, a 315% increase in revenue and a 327% increase in traffic, Macy’s said. Interest from creators is also growing, with the brand recording a 138% year-on-year increase in the number of organic posts created by Style Crew members over the same period. While affiliate marketing is inherently performance-based, Macy’s prioritizes metrics beyond sales, Port explains.
“We don’t necessarily just think about it in terms of sales, we really look at community involvement,” Port said.
Macy’s manages the Style Crew program internally, but uses technology services from companies CJ and Motom for the makers’ storefronts. Talent can apply both internally and externally via an online application.
Beyond the screen
While the Style Crew focuses on channels like social media, Macy’s has started experimenting with bringing influencers to other channels. For the 2025 holiday season, the department store sent direct mailers to consumers with Style Crew picks, along with a QR code that could be scanned to view more content. While direct mail targets a different – typically older – consumer than social media, the move was successful in signaling to the brand the need for affiliate content that goes beyond digital channels, Port said.
“People, no matter their age or what medium they use, want to see curation,” Port said. “They want to see people who look like them.”
Macy’s is also testing bringing its Style Crew to stores. In November and December last year, the brand chose three cities to bring makers’ storefronts to life in their home markets. The makers’ storefronts each targeted a different business segment: in Dallas, Raven Gates had a variety of family-oriented choices; in Miami, Jessi Malay curated picks focused on vacation style; and in New York, Carli Bybel presented her top beauty picks.
The move allowed the brand to reach fans of the creators as well as those who happened to be shopping in-store during the pop-ups, Port said. It also helped the brand resonate with people in the 30 to 45 age range, a segment of shoppers that Macy’s prioritizes in-store experiences.
“We see that group coming into the store more and more, and that is why we are trying to test that physical and digital expression,” said Port.
A number of brands have recently launched their own affiliate programs, including Sephora, Chewy’s and Lowe’s. Affiliate marketing differs from influencer marketing in that it is directly related to measurable results and less associated with building brand awareness. become increasingly vague while makers combine storytelling with sales. Affiliate marketing can also be more cost-effective for brands while still offering the opportunity to build relationships with creators, Port explains.“Brands have a limited budget to do flat-rate campaigns, and I don’t think we can do that with everyone, but I think creators have recognized that there are different ways to still serve their communities through affiliate marketing,” Port said.
The evolution of Macy’s Style Crew comes at a pivotal time for the business community. The department store is currently under construction closing 150 stores as part of a years-long downsizing plan that is key to the turnaround efforts led by Tony Spring, CEO of Macy’s Incwho has been in the role for almost a year. Macy’s Inc. posted the strongest Q3 comps in more than three years in December, with net sales remaining essentially flat year over year, while the Macy’s brand saw net sales decline 2.3%. The efforts to improve Macy’s Style Crew are emblematic of the brand’s broader turnaround.
“I think everything we’re doing is really about driving new attention to Macy’s and really getting us on the cutting edge of the culture,” Port said.
In 2026, Port plans to create more personal marketing opportunities using the Style Crew. The director also hopes to find more ways to use the program, including finding ways to keep it connected to major events like the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“We’re really about community, so we feel like that’s where we’ve had the most success is doing a lot of this kind of content in real life, so whether that’s all influencers, or influencers and consumers together, and really exploring how we can leverage our best asset, which is our stores.”#Macys #expanding #Style #Crew #affiliate #program #social #media