MACY'S LOVELAB
2025
PRODUCT & EXPERIENCE DESIGN
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
The NRF Foundation’s University Challenge is a national competition where students solve a real retail challenge and pitch their solution to executives over months of stages of intense competition. This year, Macy's partnered with the NRF Foundation to get fresh student-led strategies to diagnose a real business opportunity, design an end-to-end concept, prove it with financials, and pitch it directly to company leadership.
I was selected with three other UNT students to represent UNT at NRF 2026, partnering with Macy’s. Over the course of a year, we researched consumer behavior, identified gaps, created a robust idea with prototypes, competed against 60+ teams, and earned first place on the national stage.
PROBLEM
Between 2023 and 2024, Macy’s net sales fell 3.5%, their biggest marketing loss being on gift shopping.
This project called my team to address a cultural shift: shoppers want experiences that feel personal, not generic. This is because people feel less seen, more time-pressed, and more careful with money.
We had to translate that emotional need into something Macy’s could actually execute at scale through research, audits, and a modern, AI-aware experience.
Role
UX/UI Designer, Product Designer, Student Lead
Company
Macy's, National Retail Federation Student Foundation
Team
Angel Ntenyi - Financials Student
LaTasia Burton - Merchandising Student
Marcos Rodriguez - Merchandising Student
Malini Ratnam - Advisor
Richard Last - Digital Commerce Mentor
Jeff Haddox - Digital Commerce Mentor
Laura Storm - Financials Mentor
Timeline
10 months,
Four rounds of competition
20+
Initial unique concepts and ideas
100+
Conducted survey respondants
12
Workshops with team and mentors
CONTRIBUTIONS
20 Page
pitch deck & interactive prototypes
Photo from NRF Foundation University Challenge honorees page
Here’s how we created an award-winning concept that explores individual representation in gifting for Macy’s that could earn them $67.9M in profit in 5 years.
FIRST, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
We found that there's an ongoing shift in user thinking when it comes to gifts:
74%
of customers say personalized experiences make them more likely to buy.
52%
of Gen Z and 44% of Millennials planned to give handmade or personalized gifts in 2024 according to data trends.
This is due to both a growing need for the gift to tell a story, tighter budget constraints, and the mass accessibility of shopping.
We researched Macy's target audiences, including the demographics of their online and in-store shoppers in order to position our personas and survey correctly.
PERSONA CREATION:
Macy’s customers are diverse, multigenerational, and are, on average, middle class or above. The biggest target for in-store shopping is Gen-X for online, it's Millennials.
Macy’s brand recognition is huge, but there have been some negative responses to most new initiatives. When it comes to competition, Target, Nordstrom, and Amazon are preferred for shopping.
SURVEYS AND INTERVIEWS!
To better understand our target users, we surveyed 100+ participants and used 17 questions to explore gifting behaviors, pain points, motivations, and emotional drivers: revealing clear needs and opportunities.
“Macy’s has great stuff, but I usually end up on Etsy when I want something that feels personal in my price range.”
- Millennial Female Respondent
“I always think of Macy’s during the holidays: it’s nostalgic. But I wish it felt more current and easier to shop for actual meaningful gifts.”
- Gen-Z Female Respondent
When it came to buying, three factors were crucial: uniqueness, personalization, and quality
Customization + Quality Drive Decisions
88% said that Uniqueness, Customization, or Quality matter most when gift shopping
01
Gifting = Relationship Storytelling
91% of shoppers care deeply about what gifts say about their relationships.
02
Personalization Increases Willingness to Pay
Gifters are willing to spend 15 - 30% more for quality + personalization.
03
NEXT, EVALUATE THE MARKET.
What are competitors doing with this shift towards a need for personalization, what are current user pain points, and where is the perfect Macy's sized gap?
How might we design a solution that aligns with Macy's brand, is current with the market, and fulfills the sentiment and uniqueness that users are looking for?
DRIVING INNOVATION FROM RESEARCH:
We sorted our research into three key dimensions: user needs, brand objectives, and market opportunities. Our goal is to converge these insights into a single, cohesive experience strategy.
RAPID IDEATION
This rapid ideation session helped us step into the user’s mindset while also strengthening team alignment. Co-creating, riffing on each other’s ideas, and thinking out loud made this one of my favorite moments in the process. We each brought our own powerful ideas!
After a working session with our mentors, we converged on a primary concept:
Offering engraving and embroidery so shoppers can add a meaningful word or name to the product.
Even with a clear direction, our problem-solving wasn’t finished. We needed to explore how to extend this into an omnichannel, gifting-forward experience that feels relevant year-round: how it should look, taste, and smell as a sensory brand moment, and how to shape it into a compelling, story-driven pitch.
SOLUTION VISION
Macy's LoveLab is a personalization-driven enhancement to private label products at Macy's. It exists:
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Full scale, with on-the-spot embroidery and engraving booths in the top performing Macy's stores,
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As a digital ordering kiosk in Macy's "Next 75" stores to save on cost,
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And online, nation-wide, as a personalization engine
It also brings personalization to the shopper with a personal AI agent online.
Personalize a coke kiosk
Levi's Tailor Shop
Nike
Macy's LoveLab didn’t arrive fully formed: we earned it through iteration.
It would be months before I began prototyping a final design.
Another constraint we had was an undefined budget. We designed for reality and committed to a $5M model, which pushed us toward a tiered in-store strategy: kiosks in some locations, full customization bars in others.
Competition pressure made us question if we were maybe "playing it safe," but we were confident that our idea aligned perfectly with Macy's and their target market's goals.
Week 3
Week 6
Week 8
Final
I led the visual design and user experience of our product concept, including designing the accessible points of engagement through all of Macy’s channels: new actions online, and an in store experience.
While my teammates focused on marketing strategies, financial planning, and product curation, I translated our ideas into tangible, interactive designs, ensuring the concept was intuitive, engaging, and aligned with Macy’s brand.
DESIGN
WIREFRAMING
After presenting the mobile wireframe, I quickly realized a few gaps. The color palette skewed red in a way that didn’t feel authentically Macy’s, and the experience wasn’t yet seamlessly integrated into the existing Macy’s site.
As I asked my team to tap through the flow, it also became clear that the AR feature needed refinement to feel more intuitive.
For the in-store kiosk, the 3D rendering was inspired by the elevated, premium vibe of modern malls. The design leans on timeless, simple colors and a clean layout so the experience is easy to scan and understand at a glance in a busy mall environment, making the interaction feel both premium and accessible.
🎉 FINAL DESIGN 🎉
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In-Store Booth and Kiosk guide users through gift selection with personalization options.
Built with Blender, edited in Photoshop
Personalized Gifts page seamlessly built in to Macy's' original website:
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Bestsellers and visual guides with clear communication
Online
Built with Figma
User-friendly customization with 11 color choices, 3 fonts, 32 icons, and complete text/number input.
Online - Product Pages
What if a customer needs a little extra help?
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GiftGuide AI is the Macy's personal shopper in your pocket.
Online - Added Intelligence/CX
FINAL PRESENTATION TO FOUR OF MACY'S VPS IN NEW YORK
After months of collaboration, iteration, and mentor feedback, including four rounds of rigorous elimination, we developed and refined a final concept, complete with financials, launch timelines, a product array, research and prototypes.
As a Team, we delivered:
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A cohesive omnichannel gifting concept aligned with Macy’s brand
As the UX/UI member, I successfully delivered:
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Prototypes and high-fidelity mockups for both in-store and online experiences
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A visually compelling 20-Slide pitch deck
Outcomes & Takeaways:
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Gained hands-on industry experience in product strategy
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Built confidence in pitching and presenting to executives and industry leaders
"This team was my top pick for their connection to the brand, customer, times, demand, implementation, and passionate presentation."
Erica Infantolino
Division VP, Macy's
FEEDBACK FROM THE INDUSTRY
"Their understanding of Macy's current business and the overall gifting customer + market landscape were strong and impressive."
Jennifer Cowhey
Senior Director Business Strategy, Macy's
"This was probably the best-looking deck out of all that I’ve scored! This skill will take you far."
Sarah Lundberg
Principle Strategy, Macy's
"The idea was well thought through and the team considered almost every detail that was required to make this a strong pitch."
PJ Singh
VP-Stores Strategy & Product Management, Macy's
Curious to see how it all came together? View the final pitch deck here.