• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, November 9, 2011

Fueled by strong sales and profits, Macy’s says it is raising its financial forecast for the full year, and announced plans to expand, opening three new stores in New York and California. Its executives say its cross-channel initiatives are helping to drive those beefy results.

Third-quarter sales hit $5.85 billion, up 4.1% from sales of $5.62 billion in the third quarter of 2010. On a same-store basis, sales climbed 4% and online sales jumped 39.8%. Operating income rose to $291 million, compared with operating income of $177 million for the same period last year.

“Even with our strong online sales, our stores are doing better than ever,” says Karen M. Hoguet, CFO, says in a webcast of its results. “They really are working in tandem. It’s turning out to be far better in terms of generating sales growth than even we thought it would be.” The company’s omnichannel integration efforts also include a major push in mobile commerce, with QR codes featured prominently in stores and in ads.

Hoguet, who told analysts she expects marketing spending to be level in the coming year, also fielded questions about how likely it is that the holiday period would become more intensely promotional due to consumer concerns about the economy. “Holiday periods are always promotional,” she says. “But planned promotions are not unprofitable.”

For the quarter ahead, it expects same-store sales to gain 4 to 4.5%. And it’s increasing its full-year 2011 earnings forecast.

The new Macy’s stores are scheduled for The Bronx and Bay Shore in New York, and in Victorville, Calif.

Earlier this month, it said it would open a new Bloomingdale’s in Glendale, Calif., and Hoguet says she expects the Bloomingdale’s division to continue to outperform.