We went to the Macy’s flagship store in New York City and saw firsthand how the brand is transforming into a discount retailer (M)

Skye Gould/Business Insider

Business Insider/Mary Hanbury

Macy's is beginning to look a lot more like discount stores such as TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack.

In the past two years, the struggling department store has launched an outlet store called Macy's Backstage, added dedicated Last Act clearance sections to stores, and said it would add more self-service systems to its beauty and shoe sections. 

These changes mark a decisive shift away from being a full-service retailer. 

Off-price retail is one of the only bright spots in the industry. This year, TJ Maxx announced plans to open 1,800 more stores globally and reported 21 consecutive years of positive same-store sales. Meanwhile, Macy's closed 66 stores in 2016 and plans to shutter another 34 in the next few years. 

We took a trip to Macy's to see how the shopping experience has changed:

We visited Macy's flagship store in New York's busy Herald Square. The store was built over a century ago and at the time, was the world's largest store.

Our first impressions were positive. On a gray Friday afternoon, the ground floor beauty section was pretty busy.

Beauty is an important area of growth for the store, especially as apparel sales weaken. The US beauty industry of premium products grew 6 percent in 2016 and reached $17 billion in sales, according to NPD market research group.