Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

When Macy’s on Tuesday (Sept. 13) issued a statement summarizing a wide range of IT investments, including stores borrowing inventory from each other, a cosmetics kiosk, some tablet deployments, digital receipts, Wi-Fi, Google Wallet support and online chats (Really? No touting those newfangled UPC codes?), the fact that many of these IT efforts happened months ago made the compilation news release seem baffling. Baffling, that is, until we figured out the point: IT is now cool. Or at least Wall Street thinks it is.

To be specific, Wall Street doesn’t think that all IT investments are cool. It’s when IT investments come from companies where it’s not expected. When eBay or, heaven forbid, Amazon invest in IT, Wall Street lets them have it with both spreadsheets, in a way that they would have never criticized Wal-Mart for opening new stores. But when the Sears and Macy’s of the world start talking about these space-age computer thingies, stock analysts get all starry-eyed.

To be fair, the Macy’s statement did include a few legitimately new details in its list. For mobile and tablets: “This fall, about 350 stores will be using tablets to help customers research and select skin care products at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s Clinique counters. In shoes, Bloomingdale’s will be using tablets and hand-held devices in five stores to help customers view and shop from the largest possible variety of styles and colors, including products at other Bloomingdale’s stores. In fine jewelry, 25 Macy’s stores are beginning to use tablets to demonstrate product features and offer coordinating jewelry pieces that may not be available in that particular location.”

On mobile payment, it revealed the specific number of Macy’s/Bloomingdale’s stores involved in the Google Wallet trial (219 stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.). And it also gave more details about its digital receipt efforts: “Beginning in late October, Macy’s will experiment with digital receipts in 50 selected stores across the country. When making a purchase, customers can choose to have a copy of their receipt E-mailed to them. In spring 2012, Macy’s customers will also have the option to select digital receipts only.”

But the point remains that this was an investor statement, and it illustrates a frightening truth. Even though it should be no news at all that the likes of Macy’s, Target, Sears and Walgreens are huge IT shops, Wall Street is still impressed with the efforts.

Much worse, though, are the chains’ assumptions about how well Wall Street understands IT efforts. The Macy’s statement was, pure and simple, a piece designed to cheerlead the chain’s technology efforts, which is an entirely worthy and appropriate endeavor. Consider, then, the carefully selected words attributed to CEO Terry Lundgren.