Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Statement of Operations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Jan. 30, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015	Aug. 01, 2015	May. 02, 2015	Jan. 31, 2015	Nov. 01, 2014	Aug. 02, 2014	May. 03, 2014	Jan. 30, 2016	Jan. 31, 2015	Feb. 01, 2014
Net sales	$ 8,869	$ 5,874	$ 6,104	$ 6,232	$ 9,364	$ 6,195	$ 6,267	$ 6,279	$ 27,079	$ 28,105	$ 27,931
Cost of sales	(5,549)	(3,537)	(3,610)	(3,800)	(5,589)	(3,766)	(3,672)	(3,836)	(16,496)	(16,863)	(16,725)
Gross margin	3,320	2,337	2,494	2,432	3,775	2,429	2,595	2,443	10,583	11,242	11,206
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(2,207)	(1,968)	(2,058)	(2,023)	(2,324)	(2,007)	(2,024)	(2,000)	(8,256)	(8,355)	(8,440)
Impairments, store closing and other costs	(177)	(111)	0	0	(87)	0	0	0	(288)	(87)	(88)
Operating income (loss)									2,039	2,800	2,678
Interest Income (Expense), Net									(361)	(393)	(388)
Interest (expense) income, net
Intercompany									0	0	0
Premium on early retirement of debt									0	(17)	0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries									0	0	0
Income (loss) before income taxes									1,678	2,390	2,290
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)									(608)	(864)	(804)
Net income									1,070	1,526	1,486
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									2	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders	$ 544	$ 118	$ 217	$ 193	$ 793	$ 217	$ 292	$ 224	1,072	1,526	1,486
Comprehensive income									1,099	1,119	1,752
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									2	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									1,101	1,119	1,752
Parent Company [Member]
Net sales									0	0	0
Cost of sales									0	0	0
Gross margin									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									(2)	(3)	(8)
Impairments, store closing and other costs									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									(2)	(3)	(8)
Interest Income (Expense), Net									1	1	1
Interest (expense) income, net
Intercompany									0	0	(2)
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries									1,072	1,528	1,492
Income (loss) before income taxes									1,071	1,526	1,483
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)									1	0	3
Net income									1,072	1,526	1,486
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									1,072	1,526	1,486
Comprehensive income									1,101	1,119	1,752
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									1,101	1,119	1,752
Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Net sales									11,959	13,078	13,233
Cost of sales									(7,670)	(8,127)	(8,168)
Gross margin									4,289	4,951	5,065
Selling, general and administrative expenses									(3,980)	(4,351)	(4,443)
Impairments, store closing and other costs									(170)	(45)	(37)
Operating income (loss)									139	555	585
Interest Income (Expense), Net									(361)	(394)	(388)
Interest (expense) income, net
Intercompany									(230)	(230)	(176)
Premium on early retirement of debt										(17)
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries									421	624	557
Income (loss) before income taxes									(31)	538	578
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)									120	25	33
Net income									89	563	611
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									89	563	611
Comprehensive income									118	156	877
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									118	156	877
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Net sales									24,037	23,522	23,417
Cost of sales									(17,743)	(17,231)	(17,276)
Gross margin									6,294	6,291	6,141
Selling, general and administrative expenses									(4,274)	(4,001)	(3,989)
Impairments, store closing and other costs									(118)	(42)	(51)
Operating income (loss)									1,902	2,248	2,101
Interest Income (Expense), Net									(1)	0	(1)
Interest (expense) income, net
Intercompany									230	230	178
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries									0	0	0
Income (loss) before income taxes									2,131	2,478	2,278
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)									(729)	(889)	(840)
Net income									1,402	1,589	1,438
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									2	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									1,404	1,589	1,438
Comprehensive income									1,415	1,338	1,434
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									2	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									1,417	1,338	1,434
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Net sales									(8,917)	(8,495)	(8,719)
Cost of sales									8,917	8,495	8,719
Gross margin									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									0	0	0
Impairments, store closing and other costs									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									0	0	0
Interest Income (Expense), Net									0	0	0
Interest (expense) income, net
Intercompany									0	0	0
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries									(1,493)	(2,152)	(2,049)
Income (loss) before income taxes									(1,493)	(2,152)	(2,049)
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)									0	0	0
Net income									(1,493)	(2,152)	(2,049)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									(1,493)	(2,152)	(2,049)
Comprehensive income									(1,535)	(1,494)	(2,311)
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest									0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders									$ (1,535)	$ (1,494)	$ (2,311)