ONLINE SHOPPING Federated Takes Another Stab At Selling Over The Net.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: Pete Barlas

Federated Department Stores Inc. is making another try at selling products over the Web, but a consultant who once worked for the company says it should go back to the drawing board.

Late last month, Federated, owner of retailers Macy's and Bloomingdale's, re-launched Web sites for both stores.

Federated spent the last year retooling both Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com. The goal was to make it easier for consumers to make purchases. In 1999, Macys.com ranked as the worst retail site on the Web, according to Creative Good Inc., a New York-based consulting and research firm.

Two years later, Macys.com is only a little better. The site still needs work in terms of helping customers purchase products quickly, says Phil Terry, chief executive of Creative Good, which worked with Federated two years ago. "They need to get basic site navigation, basic search and merchandising; the idea is to not make your customers work too hard," he said.

Federated is rolling out Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com at a critical time. More than 500 Web companies have folded since January of last year. Nearly half of those were e-commerce companies. Nevertheless, Federated is pushing ahead to get ready for the Christmas season -- an annual cash cow for both online and offline retailers.

The failure of so many e-commerce companies hasn't stopped consumers from shopping online, says Dawn Robertson, president of Federated Direct, the online unit of Federated Department Stores. "More and more consumers are going online to shop, and we are just keeping in stride with the right mix of products," she said. "We think we are repositioned for a big holiday season."