Macy's is adopting a strategy from more than 100 years ago to save its business

• Ashley Lutz
 

• Feb. 9, 2016, 5:35 PM
 

Stella 34 TrattoriaMacy's Stella 34 Trattoria in Manhattan serves upscale food and cocktails.

Macy's is closing dozens of storesamid an overall decline in department store shopping

And now, the retailer might be turning to a century-old strategy to drive sales: opening restaurants, retail expert Warren Shoulberg writes on industry website The Robin Report. 

Macy's has an upscale Italian restaurant called Stella 34 Trattoria at its flagship store in Manhattan. Menu items include $22 plates of mushroom linguine and $57 sea bass for two. 

The strategy is one that was common 100 years ago, according to Shoulberg. 

"Those first merchants of retailing knew what today’s generation is having to relearn: that retail stores are more than a place to buy stuff. They are the centerpieces of communities, focal points where people gathered for special occasions, to mark moments in their lives and to celebrate,"he writes. "And oh, while they were doing all of that, maybe they bought a new shirt or a frying pan. 

The restaurants attracted shoppers to the store. Once they were there, it was more likely they would buy something. 

Macy's is also in the process of opening more discount stores. 

Kena Betancur/GettyA Customer visits a H&M store at the Newport Mall during Black Friday Sales on November 27, 2015 in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was expected that 135.8 million Americans would shop this Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation.

CEO Terry Lundgren told CNBCthat the brand is planning to put some of the "Backstage" stores in its existing retail locations this year.

The stores will sell Macy's brands at steeply discounted prices — up to 80% off. This model copies highly successful brands like TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack.

The outlet locations would serve as a test of whether the store's new discount outlets will take business away from the higher-priced traditional stores.

"We have to make stores more productive — all of us box stores," Lundgren told CNBC. "Customers buying online have got to find more reasons to visit."