Macy's Tone of Voice — Aspirational & American

Tagline: "Believe"

Industry: Department Store

Sector: E-commerce

How Macy's Communicates

Macy’s ties the department store to aspiration and American holiday magic. "Believe" — anchored by its famous Thanksgiving parade and Santa letters — frames the brand around wonder, tradition, and belief in something bigger — aspirational, American, warm. The voice is holiday-magic and hopeful, selling shopping wrapped in nostalgia and the spirit of the season.

Tone Words

Macy's's brand voice is defined by the following tone words: Aspirational, American.

Communication Style

Language Style: Holiday-magic
Sentence Type: Command
Tense: Present
Expression: Imaginative

Macy's Brand Story

Macy's is an American icon from the Thanksgiving Day Parade to Miracle on 34th Street. The brand continues to reinvent the department store experience for modern shoppers.

Brand Message

The magic of department store shopping, reimagined

Brand Mission

Be the preferred shopping destination for our customers

Brand Positioning

Core Concept: Magic of Shopping

Central Tension: Ordinary vs. Magical

About Macy's

Macy's IP Holdings, LLC doing business as Macy's, is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34th Street that opened in 1902. It expanded beyond the New York metropolitan area by acquisitions and conversions of regional department stores, facilitated by the purchase of Macy's by Federated Department Stores in 1994. It achieved a national footprint with the acquisition of The May Department Stores Company by Federated in 2005, which resulted in the conversion of its department stores to Macy's in 2006 and the renaming of Federated to Macy's, Inc. in 2007. Macy's is also a sister brand to the upmarket Bloomingdale's department store chain and Bluemercury beauty store chain. Macy's is the largest department store company by retail sales in the United States, with 94,000 employees and an annual revenue of $25.3 billion as of 2023. It operates 450 locations in the country and its territories Puerto Rico and Guam as of 2025. Macy's Herald Square is one of the largest department stores in the world, spanning...

Frequently Asked Questions About Macy's

What is Macy's's tone of voice?

Macy's uses a aspirational, american tone of voice. Their communication is holiday-magic, typically using command-style sentences in the present tense. Their tagline "Believe" exemplifies this voice.

How does Macy's communicate with customers?

Macy's is an American icon from the Thanksgiving Day Parade to Miracle on 34th Street. The brand continues to reinvent the department store experience for modern shoppers.

What is Macy's's brand message?

Macy's's core message: The magic of department store shopping, reimagined Their mission: Be the preferred shopping destination for our customers

What is Macy's's slogan?

Macy's's slogan is "Believe". It carries their aspirational, american voice.

What is Macy's's mission?

Macy's's mission: Be the preferred shopping destination for our customers

What makes Macy's's brand voice unique?

Macy's stands out through their aspirational, american communication style. Their central brand tension, "Ordinary vs. Magical", shapes how they communicate across the E-commerce sector.

What language style does Macy's use?

Macy's uses holiday-magic language, with imaginative messaging, in command-style sentences, using the present tense.