Retailer sees digital recovery as physical stores lag
Bath & Body Works reported a modest fall in second-quarter sales yet beat Wall Street estimates, underlining a familiar retail story: online demand returning while bricks-and-mortar stores continue to struggle to attract shoppers.
For the quarter ended 1 August the company reported net sales of $1.5bn, a 2.3% decline year-on-year but slightly ahead of analysts' expectations of $1.49bn. Adjusted earnings per diluted share came in at 62 cents, roughly 2.5 times greater than forecasts, according to results disclosed this week.
Digital channels were the bright spot. Online sales grew 3%, marking a return to growth after five years of decline. At the same time, store sales fell by 5.4%, a drop the company says it must reverse if it is to fulfil its potential.
“We’re not performing to our own potential... transformations like this take time, and we are exactly where we expected to be,” said Daniel Heaf, chief executive officer of Bath & Body Works.
Shifting distribution and marketing strategies
The company said it is bolstering its presence on third‑party platforms and expanding distribution, naming partnerships with Amazon and Ulta Beauty. Executives highlighted a notable uplift from those channels — Amazon’s business more than tripled in the quarter — as part of a strategy to diversify how customers find and buy its products.
Heaf told WWD that the business will increase marketing activity in the second half of the year and make greater use of its store teams at the "lease line" to engage shoppers. The firm employs about 50,000 store associates in the US and Canada and believes they can do more to welcome customers and create disruption in malls so that shoppers choose Bath & Body Works.
- Net sales: $1.5bn (Q2)
- Year-on-year sales change: -2.3%
- Digital sales growth: +3%
- In-store sales change: -5.4%
- Adjusted EPS: 62 cents
What this means for local shopping areas
Although the company is US-based, the balance between online and in-store performance will be of interest to residents and businesses in Bath. The city’s independent retailers and high street shops have been navigating similar tensions: consumers remain cautious and more deliberate in their spending choices, favouring small, affordable treats — a buying pattern Bath & Body Works executives say is driving its digital gains for body care and home fragrance items.
Retailers in Bath have been closely watching how national and international chains adapt. More aggressive marketing, improved in-store experiences and partnerships with major online platforms are among the tactics being used to lure shoppers back to physical outlets. Those changes may reshape how people in Bath encounter national brands on the high street and in nearby shopping centres.
| Metric | Quarter |
|---|---|
| Net sales | $1.5bn |
| Digital sales growth | +3% |
| In-store sales change | -5.4% |
| Adjusted EPS | 62 cents |
Executives acknowledge the consumer is “more cautious and deliberate” in purchases. The retailer’s plan — greater marketing spend, better use of store teams and expanded distribution through well-known digital platforms — is intended to create the "proof points" needed to scale momentum into the latter half of the year.
For Bath shoppers, the story is a reminder of how national retail strategies can influence local streets: whether through pop‑up promotions, increased digital advertising targeted locally, or partnerships that affect availability in nearby shops. How effective those measures will be in translating online interest into visits to physical stores remains to be seen, but the company’s results suggest the battle for shoppers’ attention is now firmly fought on several fronts.
Bath & Body Works’ performance illustrates a wider retail transition — one where digital recovery is under way, yet the challenge of enticing customers back into stores persists.
