Macy’s Has the Strongest Mental Equity Amongst Department Stores

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The bottom line up front  

Macy's has the strongest mental equity of any traditional department store on the occasions that still belong to department stores -- the dressed-up ones. It is the only traditional department store consumers name first for shopping for a wedding (36.5% association) or an outfit for a special event (34.0%), and its Mental Advantage confirms it over-indexes on both (+11.8 and +8.4). That equity is strongest among higher-income shoppers, where Macy's mental market share reaches 12.4% and it leads Walmart nearly two-to-one on those occasions. The problem is not awareness or equity; it is conversion. Macy's mental market share (7.8%) runs ahead of its actual market share (6.3%), the widest such gap in the category -- consumers think of Macy's more than they shop it. The growth path is to convert the equity Macy's already holds on the dressed-up occasions and extend into the adjacent discretionary occasions where it over-indexes, while accepting that the high-frequency value occasions belong to mass.

For this analysis, we focused and surveyed on major department stores in the U.S. that primarily have brick and mortar locations.

 Where Macy's Stands

Macy's is broadly known (72.7% aware) and has real mental availability: 65.9% of category shoppers associate it with at least one occasion, and it holds 7.8% mental market share -- second among traditional department stores only to Kohl's (7.9%), and well ahead of JCPenney (5.7%) and Nordstrom (2.6%). Its emotional connection score (2.92 on a 1-7 scale) is mid-pack: below the mass retailers, ahead of most department-store peers, and far ahead of the luxury names. 

The distinctive number is the gap between mental and market share. At 7.8% mental against 6.3% market, Macy's carries a +1.5 gap -- the largest positive gap of any brand measured. A positive gap means mental availability is ahead of behavior: the brand is thought of more than it is shopped. For Macy's this is the clearest signal in the data, because it points to demand that already exists in consumers' minds and has not yet converted to visits and share.

 The Occasions Macy's Owns

Note: These scores in this table are based on the full set of brands we ran our study on, not just the brands listed in the headers at the top. To see the full table, get in touch.

Macy's leads the category on two occasions, and they are closely related: shopping for a wedding and needing an outfit for a special event. It is first on both by absolute association (36.5% and 34.0%), and its Mental Advantage scores (+11.8 and +8.4) confirm it performs well above what its size would predict. These are the dressed-up, higher-consideration occasions where price is not the deciding factor -- the part of the category mass has not taken.

Below that, Macy's shows positive but sub-threshold leans on a cluster of related occasions: restocking beauty (+4.5), needing something for work or meetings (+3.0), building or updating personal style (+2.3), and finding shoes or accessories (+2.3). It does not lead these occasions, but it over-indexes on them. They are the natural adjacencies to the occasions Macy's already owns, and the most credible places to extend.

Where Macy's is structurally weak is the high-frequency value cluster: stocking up on everyday essentials (-8.4), looking for a great deal (-7.0), and getting ready for back-to-school (-6.9). These are mass-owned occasions, and Macy's under-indexes on them by a wide margin. They are not winnable, and effort spent there works against the brand's actual strengths.

Who Macy's Is Winning (and Losing)

Macy's equity rises with income. Its mental market share climbs from 5.4% among shoppers earning under $50K to 9.7% at $50-100K to 12.4% at $100K+, where it nearly matches Target (12.6%). On the dressed-up occasions the pattern is sharper: among $100K+ shoppers, Macy's leads Walmart on weddings 43.8% to 23.3% and on special-event outfits 43.0% to 22.3%, and it passes Walmart on browsing and discovery (33.7% vs. 27.4%). The higher-income, style-oriented shopper is where Macy's is strongest and most defensible.

Where Macy's loses is the lower-income, value-driven end of the category, where mass and off-price lead the occasions that come up most often. That is not a segment to fight for; it is one to concede in favor of the shoppers Macy's already wins.

What's In the Way

The barrier is conversion, not awareness. Macy's +1.5 mental-market gap says consumers hold the brand in mind more than their shopping reflects. That points to friction between consideration and purchase, and to occasions where Macy's is thought of but is not the store acted on. Closing the gap is a matter of turning existing mental availability into visits, not building new awareness.

A secondary constraint is breadth. Macy's owns only two occasions outright and over-indexes on a handful more; outside the dressed-up and style cluster, its associations thin out quickly. A brand strong on a narrow set of occasions is more exposed when those occasions are not front of mind, which makes extending into the adjacent discretionary occasions -- beauty, work and occasion dressing, personal style -- both an opportunity and a hedge.

Why This Matters Now

Convert the equity you already own. Macy's leads weddings and special events and carries the widest mental-over-market gap in the category. The near-term return is in converting that existing mental availability into visits among the higher-income shoppers who over-index on those occasions, not in building awareness Macy's already has.

Extend into the adjacent discretionary occasions. Beauty (+4.5), work and occasion dressing (+3.0), and personal style (+2.3) are where Macy's already over-indexes without leading. They are the natural next occasions to own, and they reach the same style-oriented, higher-income shopper.

Concede the value occasions. Everyday essentials (-8.4), great deals (-7.0), and back-to-school (-6.9) are structurally mass-owned. Spending to compete there works against Macy's strengths and will not move share.

Target the higher-income, style-oriented shopper. Macy's equity is strongest and most defensible at $100K+, where it nearly matches Target and leads Walmart on the dressed-up occasions. That shopper is reachable on the discovery platforms (Pinterest, Instagram) where department store users over-index.

Why This Matters Now

Stop competing on the value occasions. The most common occasions in the category are the ones mass leads most decisively. Spending to be known for “sale,” “deal,” or “everyday value” means competing directly with Walmart, where most department stores will not win.

Focus on the discretionary occasions and higher-income shoppers. Weddings, special events, style discovery, and self-reward are the only occasions where a traditional department store leads or comes close, and that lead is strongest among $100K+ shoppers. Macy's shows the position can be won.

Treat off-price, not other department stores, as the main competitor for the value shopper. Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls are gaining mental penetration on the deal occasions. A mid-market department store competing with them on value will lose on both price and selection. 

Diagnose before spending. Where a brand has strong awareness but low market share -- Kohl's and JCPenney most clearly -- the issue is occasion relevance, not reach. Moving budget from general awareness toward owning a specific, defensible occasion will return more than spending against occasions the brand cannot win.

About this research

Morning Consult conducts over 30,000 daily proprietary surveys in 45 countries covering more than 5,000 brands and 50 economic indicators. 

Our category advantage research is aimed at understanding the needs driving consumers in your category — and how your brand can own more of them. This research is built on validated principles of brand-driven growth and powered by Morning Consult’s industry-leading sampling technology.

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