Note: This is part 3 of a series. To catch up, check out Domestic Warrior: Retail Project Part 1, Nordstrom BP Shoes and Domestic Warrior: Retail Project Part 2, Nordstrom Salon Shoes.
Macy’s
I like Macy’s. There was always something about the history of the store that I found charming – probably the rerun commercials featuring Bob Hope. Prior to my dedication to Shopping Small, I would frequently shop at Macy’s and take advantage of their discounts. I’d wait until I got my 20% off coupons in the mail and then go attack the sale racks with a vengeance. When I took the time to treasure-hunt, I always found amazing prices for some of my go-to brands – and I wanted to share the thrill of the hunt with my friend.
Shoes
Grade: C-
As we did at Nordstrom, we went straight for the shoes! But when we got there, neither of us felt compelled to browse. We forced ourselves to walk through all the shoes and look at them but didn’t want to try anything on. I couldn’t figure out why that was the case – after all, there’s a significant amount of brand overlap between Macy’s shoe department and Nordstrom BP. Then Pam made the observation that the lighting was dim and underwhelming. We could barely even see the shoes. And to make it even less impressive, it was a mess. Shoes and boxes were all over the floor making it difficult to walk around the department. We left shoes without a staff member greeting us.
Dresses
Grade: D
I just knew we’d have more luck in dresses. After all, there’s an entire department dedicated to JUST DRESSES. As we rode the escalator up, it started to look more promising – the dress department was well lit, organized, and we could see tons of fit and flare mini dresses. We asked the woman at the counter if they had what we were looking for, and in reply, she mumbled something under her breath that we couldn’t understand, and then she hurried away from us. We exchanged a glance, shrugged, and started our search.
We found nothing that fit the criteria.
GTFO
Total time spent in Macy’s: 15 minutes
I actually felt really let down by Macy’s – I had been certain it would come through for us in at least one category. Perhaps finding dresses with pockets was a tall order, but the shoe department should have been a sure thing. Additionally, while I wasn’t expecting the Nordstrom level of service, any service would have been really nice. At the end of this experiment, if I choose to go back to shopping at larger retailers, I’m going to need to do some soul searching around whether I’d still be a Macy’s shopper.
