Local Macy's stores doing away with gift-wrapping departments

Your local Macy's gift-wrapping counter soon will go the way of fancy toy departments and uniformed elevator operators. The Cincinnati-based retailer has begun dismantling its gift-wrapping departments at Seattle-area stores, said spokesman Jim Sluzewski.

Although Macy's has been cutting costs amid sluggish sales, Sluzewski described the move as a reaction to changing customer tastes, not the bad economy.

Nowadays, according to Sluzewski, an elaborately wrapped present can be seen as harmful to the environment, and many customers are OK with plopping a gift in a glossy, store-bought bag. (Besides, the bag can be reused.)

"Demand for gift-wrapping is not what it once was," he said. "There was a time not long ago when you never heard about gifts in bags. Now, in fact, gift bags are the primary vehicle."

Macy's has been doing away with its gift-wrapping departments nationally for three years; locally, it'll do so by mid-April, Sluzewski said. The closures began last week at the Alderwood store, followed by Bellevue Square this week and downtown Seattle next week.

He did not know how many workers will lose their jobs, he said, because some departments employ one or two people, while others simply rely on nearby salespeople to help as needed.

Macy's charges $5.95 to wrap a small box, or $10.95 for a large box, so cost-conscious customers might see it as an unnecessary expense, said Kate Newlin, a New York-based retail consultant. Nevertheless, she believes Macy's is making a mistake.

Gift-wrapping counters are the types of things, she said, that "help differentiate between going to a department store and getting that human-to-human service, vs. going online and click-click, you're done" shopping.

But Swee Swee Paperie owner Ann Conway, who sold gift-wrapping services for three years at a small stationery store in West Seattle, said she can understand Macy's decision. She closed the store last summer, noting that as the economy deteriorated, "people stopped coming in for gift-wrapping services. Instead, they came in for supplies and advice, which was free."

As for customers who want to show friends and family they care about them, Macy's still sells greeting cards, wrapping paper — "and gift bags, for that matter," Sluzewski said. "In fact, we've expanded that assortment."

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com