Driving Business Transformation Through Real-Time Data Engineering and Innovation

Naresh Erukulla’s expertise and leadership in digital transformation have established Macy’s online marketplace as a benchmark for innovation in the retail industry. As the Lead Data Engineer, Naresh designed and implemented the real-time data infrastructure that underpins Macy’s marketplace, delivering unparalleled scalability, agility, and data-driven insights. His technical and strategic contributions have enabled Macy’s to not only achieve immediate success but also establish a foundation for sustainable, long-term growth.
Launched in 2022, the marketplace was a transformative initiative involving over 300 colleagues across 25 teams. The vision was bold: to create a seamless platform integrating Macy’s legacy systems with modern Google Cloud tools to optimize customer experience, expand product offerings, and drive business efficiency. Naresh played a pivotal role in making this vision a reality by leading the development of a robust real-time streaming framework leveraging Google Cloud DataFlow, Pub/Sub, Kafka, Python, Advanced SQL, and BigQuery. These technologies allowed Macy’s to process massive volumes(PetaBytes) of data in real-time from both Macy’s and external competitor offerings, enabling vendors to offer the right products at the right time and at the right price.
Vendors and merchants now have access to actionable intelligence through Power BI dashboards, which visualize product performance, pricing trends, and customer preferences. This system empowered Macy’s to optimize vendor relationships and enhance customer satisfaction by delivering tailored product recommendations.
The marketplace’s technical foundation directly contributed to its commercial success:
• By the end of 2022, Macy’s onboarded 500 brands, with an additional 450 brands joining by Q1 2023. The marketplace aims to add 2,000 brands annually, diversifying its product catalog across new categories and demographics.
• Holiday sales in 2022 exceeded expectations by 47%, driven by the marketplace's expanded offerings and real-time analytics capabilities.
• 50% growth($80Million USD) in Q1 2023 Revenue compared to Q4 2022 reflects the marketplace’s scalable model and ability to sustain rapid growth.
The marketplace’s long-term impact is profound. Macy’s technology partner, Mirakl, recognized it as one of their most successful marketplace launches, citing the company’s ability to deliver innovation on schedule while exceeding business goals.