Bloomingdale’s has been selling New Yorkers fashion since 1872, and it is quietly having its best run in years: comparable sales grew 7.4% in fiscal 2025 while its parent company’s namesake banner managed 1.5%. If you know the brand only from the Big Brown Bag, this guide fills in the rest: what Bloomingdale’s actually is, how the Loyallist rewards program works, what the return policy really says, and how to shop it without paying full price. We researched it using Macy’s Inc. securities filings, Bloomingdale’s own program pages, trade press, and aggregated customer reviews, in line with our research methodology.
Bloomingdale’s at a glance
- ✅ What it is: an upscale American department store, “premium contemporary-to-luxury” in its parent’s own words
- ✅ Founded: roots in 1861; the brothers’ “Great East Side Bazaar” opened on Third Avenue in 1872 with $3.68 in first-day sales
- ✅ Footprint: 61 branded locations as of January 2026, spanning full-line stores, outlets, and small-format Bloomie’s, plus licensed stores in Dubai and Kuwait
- ✅ Owner: Macy’s, Inc. (in the corporate family since 1930, via Federated Department Stores)
- ✅ Best for: designer fashion and beauty with entry points below the pure-luxury tier, plus a genuinely useful free loyalty program
- 👎 Watch out for: online-order customer service draws heavy criticism; the smart play is Loyallist membership and store pickup
- ⭐ Our rating: 4.0 / 5
Bloomingdale’s vs the other big names
American department stores sort into clear tiers. Here is where Bloomingdale’s sits.
| Store | Price tier | Typical brand mix | Loyalty program | Free shipping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomingdale’s | Premium contemporary to luxury | Gucci and Valentino next to Vince, Tory Burch, and Skims | Loyallist, free, tender-neutral | Free for Loyallists; $150+ otherwise |
| Nordstrom | Accessible to designer | Broadest spread of price points, strong shoes and service | The Nordy Club, free | Free on most orders |
| Saks Fifth Avenue | True luxury | Runway and heritage houses, couture exclusives | SaksFirst | Free for members |
| Macy’s | Mid-market | Mass and contemporary brands | Star Rewards, free | $39+ threshold typical |
The middle position is the strategy. Retail analysts credit Bloomingdale’s mix, luxury names sharing a floor with contemporary labels, for letting shoppers in below the $3,500-handbag level, and for why it has been taking share while pure-luxury Saks Global closes stores. If discounted designer fashion is the goal regardless of retailer, our Love the Sales review covers the aggregator route.
A short history: from notion shop to national name
The Bloomingdale family started with a Lower East Side hoopskirt and notions shop in 1861. Brothers Lyman and Joseph opened “Bloomingdale’s Great East Side Bazaar” at 938 Third Avenue on April 17, 1872, ringing up $3.68 on day one, according to Wikipedia. The move to Third Avenue and 59th Street came in 1886, and that building, expanded in 1893 and again in 1930, still anchors the brand today: nearly a full city block and roughly 815,000 square feet, with a claim to North America’s first store escalator. Federated Department Stores bought the chain in 1930, and after Federated’s 1994 Macy’s acquisition and later renaming, Bloomingdale’s became the upscale banner of Macy’s, Inc.
Bloomingdale’s today: the outperformer in the Macy’s family
Macy’s Inc.’s fiscal 2025 annual report lists 61 Bloomingdale’s-branded locations as of January 31, 2026. Trade coverage breaks that into roughly 31 full-line department stores, 25 Bloomingdale’s The Outlet stores, and 4 small-format Bloomie’s shops across about 15 states, per WWD. Licensed stores in Dubai and Kuwait, run by Al Tayer Group, carry the brand abroad.
The numbers behind the brand are unusually strong for a department store in 2026. Comparable sales rose 7.4% in fiscal 2025, capped by a 9.9% fourth quarter the company called its best holiday performance on record, per Macy’s Inc.’s results release. CEO Olivier Bron, in charge since 2023, calls the growth plan “Dream Big”: renovating the 59th Street flagship, and adding some 3,300 new points of brand distribution in a year, from Burberry and Bottega Veneta to Jacquemus and Skims. Bron has also called the small Bloomie’s format “a profitable model” in his WWD interview, with more locations under consideration. Industry estimates put the banner’s annual volume around $4 billion.
The Loyallist program: the single best reason to register
Loyallist is free, and unlike many store programs it is tender-neutral, meaning you earn points however you pay. The mechanics, per Bloomingdale’s program page:
- Earning: 1 point per dollar for everyone; 3 points per dollar with the Bloomingdale’s card; top tiers at $5,000 and $15,000 in annual spending earn up to 4 and 10 points per dollar respectively
- Redemption: 5,000 points converts to a $25 Reward Card, issued the next day
- Free shipping: Loyallists get free standard shipping every day with no minimum; non-members need a $150 basket
- Free returns: mail returns are free for Loyallists; everyone else pays $9.95 per return
- The catch: Reward Cards expire six months after issue, and unredeemed points are largely forfeited each January 1, so cash points out rather than hoarding them
The maths is plain: the shipping and return-fee waivers alone are worth more than the points for most shoppers, and they cost nothing. Register before your first order, not after.
Sales, the Big Brown Bag, and other things worth knowing
- Friends & Family sale. Held several times a year, typically around 20-25% off large parts of the store, including spring and autumn editions. It is the event to wait for on contemporary brands that rarely see markdowns otherwise.
- The Big Brown Bag. Designed by Massimo Vignelli in 1973, originally sized for pillows and blankets from the linen department, and essentially unchanged in five decades, per PRINT Magazine. It has cameoed in Friends and Gossip Girl and got a gold 50th-anniversary edition in 2023.
- Holiday windows. The 59th Street windows are a New York tradition; recent unveilings have featured Billy Porter and a Willy Wonka collaboration with Warner Bros.
- Returns. Most items get 90 days in saleable condition with tags, per the official policy. Exceptions matter: pre-owned pieces get 14 days, and anything marked “The Final Offer”, altered, or personalised is final sale.
- International orders. bloomingdales.com ships abroad through the Borderfree program to a long list of countries, with duties calculated at checkout.
What shoppers complain about
Honesty requires the other side. Bloomingdale’s Trustpilot profile is rough: a rating around 1.5 from roughly 400 reviews as of July 2026. The themes are consistent, and they are about the website rather than the stores: online orders cancelled by verification systems, lost packages with slow or refused refunds, and hard-to-reach support. One reviewer wrote: “My items never delivered and they wont give me my money back or help.”
Keep the sample in perspective, 400 reviews against millions of transactions skews toward the burned, but the pattern suggests clear tactics. Join Loyallist so returns cost nothing, choose in-store pickup where you can, pay with a credit card for chargeback protection, and photograph anything you return. Store shopping, where Bloomingdale’s service reputation was built, carries none of these frictions.
Pros and cons
👍 What we like
- A brand mix that puts Gucci and Skims under one roof, with real entry points below luxury pricing
- Loyallist is free, tender-neutral, and waives shipping and return fees from day one
- 90-day returns beat most competitors’ windows
- Friends & Family events reliably cut 20-25% several times a year
- The strongest sales momentum of any major US department store banner in fiscal 2025
👎 What to watch
- Online-order support draws persistent complaints; use pickup and credit cards
- Reward Cards expire in six months and points largely reset each January
- Full-line stores cover only about 15 states, so much of the US is online-only territory
Bottom line
Bloomingdale’s earns a 4.0 out of 5 as a place to shop in 2026. It is the rare American department store that is growing, and the formula, luxury labels made approachable, a free loyalty program with same-day value, and theatrical retail from the Big Brown Bag to the holiday windows, still works 150 years in. Shop it in Loyallist mode, time bigger purchases to a Friends & Family event, prefer pickup for online orders, and it delivers the upscale experience without the pure-luxury markup. For more of our retail coverage, see our Bed Bath N’ Table sale guide.
Browse Bloomingdale’s new arrivals →
Sources cited in this guide
- Founding history, 59th Street flagship, escalator claim — Bloomingdale’s, Wikipedia
- Store count, ownership, FY2025 comparable sales — Macy’s Inc. fiscal 2025 Form 10-K (SEC filing)
- Q4 results and best-holiday record — Macy’s Inc. newsroom, March 2026
- Dream Big strategy and store formats — WWD interview with CEO Olivier Bron
- Loyallist earning and rewards — Bloomingdale’s Loyallist benefits page
- Return policy — Bloomingdale’s customer service
- Big Brown Bag history — PRINT Magazine
- Customer review themes — Trustpilot: Bloomingdale’s
Frequently asked questions
Is Bloomingdale’s part of Macy’s?
Yes. Bloomingdale’s has been in the same corporate family since Federated Department Stores bought it in 1930, and Federated later became Macy’s, Inc. It operates as the group’s upscale banner, positioned “premium contemporary-to-luxury”, and outgrew the Macy’s nameplate with 7.4% comparable sales growth in fiscal 2025.
Is the Loyallist program worth joining?
Yes, and before your first order. It is free, you earn 1 point per dollar however you pay, 5,000 points becomes a $25 Reward Card, and members get free standard shipping with no minimum plus free return shipping, which otherwise costs $9.95 per return. Spend the Reward Cards promptly; they expire six months after issue.
What is Bloomingdale’s return policy?
Most items can be returned within 90 days in saleable condition with tags attached. Pre-owned designer pieces get 14 days, and items marked “The Final Offer”, plus altered, personalised, and certain hygiene categories, are final sale. Loyallists return by mail free; non-members pay $9.95.
Bloomingdale’s vs Nordstrom: what is the difference?
Nordstrom spans a wider range of price points and is known for service and shoes; Bloomingdale’s skews more premium and fashion-forward, mixing luxury houses with contemporary labels. Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus sit above both in the pure-luxury tier. For designer names with mid-tier entry prices, Bloomingdale’s is the strongest fit.
When is the Bloomingdale’s Friends & Family sale?
Several times a year, with spring and autumn editions the most reliable, typically offering around 20-25% off wide swathes of the store. Signing up for Loyallist and the email list gets you notified; contemporary fashion and beauty are usually the best-value categories during the event.
Image credits: Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship and Costa Mesa store by Coolcaesar (CC BY-SA 3.0); Bloomingdale’s SoHo by Beyond My Ken (CC BY-SA 4.0). All via Wikimedia Commons.