There's one big reason why Macy's may not dump Ivanka Trump

Macy's is under intense pressure from customers and employees to cut ties with Ivanka Trump in the face of a growing boycott movement targeting companies that sell the first daughter's fashion line.

But the largest department store chain in the US hasn't said a word about whether or not it will follow the lead of its peers that have ditched the Trump brand.

The reason may not have much to do with politics. It turns out, Macy's customers are still very much interested in Ivanka Trump products online, according to data from the analytics firm Jumpshot.

In December and January, traffic to Ivanka Trump product pages on the Macy's website increased by roughly 18%, the data show. Traffic to Ivanka Trump pages, on the other hand, decreased by 14% on Nordstrom's website in the same period.

According to Randy Antin, Jumpshot's vice president of marketing, both Macy's and Nordstrom saw an uptick in traffic to Ivanka Trump brand pages leading up to the election, but that began to change drastically in November.

Jumpshot_Macys_Nordstrom_Ivanka Trump Brand_Traffic_Jan 2017
Jumpshot_Macys_Nordstrom_Ivanka Trump Brand_Traffic_Jan 2017

Jumpshot

Website traffic doesn't translate directly to sales, but it does serve as a way to measure customer interest.

Macy's, which removed the president's merchandise from its stores in 2015 after he referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists," did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment on its sales or future plans for the Ivanka Trump brand.

An online movement to boycott retailers that do business with the Trump family began in October, when Shannon Coulter started the #GrabYourWallet hashtag. Following the election, the boycott only gained steam.

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Nordstrom, which was a major target of the boycott, announced it was dropping Ivanka Trump's fashion line last week, insisting that the decision was purely financial.

"Each year we cut about 10% [of brands carried] and refresh our assortment with about the same amount," a Nordstrom representative told Business Insider last week. "In this case, based on the brand's performance we've decided not to buy it for this season."

A number of other retailers, including Neiman Marcus, have since stopped selling Ivanka Trump's brand.

In a statement made on Wednesday, after President Trump accused Nordstrom of lodging a "direct attack" on his policies, Nordstrom reiterated that Ivanka Trump's brand wasn't selling.

"Over the past year, and particularly in the last half of 2016, sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn't make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now."

Jumpshot's data backs up Nordstrom's point. In December and January, Macy's had 60% more traffic to Ivanka Trump products than Nordstrom.

That's a stark change compared to traffic prior to the election. Traffic to Ivanka Trump products on Nordstrom's website was significantly higher than Macy's from April to September of last year.

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More from Business Insider:
Nordstrom hits back after White House claims it lodged a 'direct attack' against Trump
Here are all the companies that have cut ties with the Trump family
Macy's is under pressure to drop Ivanka Trump

SEE ALSO: Macy's is under pressure to drop Ivanka Trump

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