Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Condensed Consolidating Statement of Operations) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 03, 2018	Oct. 28, 2017	Jul. 29, 2017	Apr. 29, 2017	Jan. 28, 2017	Oct. 29, 2016	Jul. 30, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016	Jul. 29, 2017	Feb. 03, 2018	Jan. 28, 2017	Jan. 30, 2016
Net sales	$ 8,666	$ 5,281	$ 5,552	$ 5,338	$ 8,515	$ 5,626	$ 5,866	$ 5,771		$ 24,837	$ 25,778	$ 27,079
Cost of sales	(5,358)	(3,175)	(3,313)	(3,306)	(5,251)	(3,386)	(3,468)	(3,516)		(15,152)	(15,621)	(16,496)
Gross margin	3,308	2,106	2,239	2,032	3,264	2,240	2,398	2,255		9,685	10,157	10,583
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(2,279)	(1,995)	(1,977)	(1,880)	(2,335)	(2,112)	(2,047)	(1,980)		(8,131)	(8,474)	(8,468)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property	368	65	43	68	133	41	21	14		544	209	212
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges	(152)	(33)	0	0	(230)	0	(249)	0		(186)	(479)	(288)
Settlement charges	(32)	(22)	(51)	0	(17)	(62)	(6)	(13)		(105)	(98)	0
Operating income (loss)										1,807	1,315	2,039
Interest (expense) income, net
External										(310)	(363)	(361)
Intercompany										0	0	0
Premium on early retirement of debt	11								$ (1)	10	0	0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Income (loss) before income taxes										1,507	952	1,678
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)										29	(341)	(608)
Net income (loss)										1,536	611	1,070
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										11	8	2
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders	$ 1,325	$ 36	$ 116	$ 71	$ 475	$ 17	$ 11	$ 116		1,547	619	1,072
Comprehensive income										1,708	758	1,099
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										11	8	2
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										1,719	766	1,101
Parent Company [Member]
Net sales										0	0	0
Cost of sales										0	0	0
Gross margin										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses										0	(2)	(2)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property										0	0	0
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges										0	0	0
Settlement charges										0	0
Operating income (loss)										0	(2)	(2)
Interest (expense) income, net
External										0	2	1
Intercompany										0	0	0
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										1,555	619	1,072
Income (loss) before income taxes										1,555	619	1,071
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)										(8)	0	1
Net income (loss)										1,547	619	1,072
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										1,547	619	1,072
Comprehensive income										1,719	766	1,101
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										1,719	766	1,101
Subsidiary Issuer [Member]
Net sales										9,441	10,677	11,959
Cost of sales										(6,101)	(6,787)	(7,670)
Gross margin										3,340	3,890	4,289
Selling, general and administrative expenses										(3,386)	(3,834)	(4,090)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property										201	95	110
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges										(40)	(295)	(170)
Settlement charges										(35)	(34)
Operating income (loss)										80	(178)	139
Interest (expense) income, net
External										(313)	(366)	(361)
Intercompany										(139)	(200)	(230)
Premium on early retirement of debt										10
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										767	255	421
Income (loss) before income taxes										405	(489)	(31)
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)										350	281	120
Net income (loss)										755	(208)	89
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										755	(208)	89
Comprehensive income										915	(61)	118
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										915	(61)	118
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Net sales										23,264	23,436	24,037
Cost of sales										(16,919)	(17,169)	(17,743)
Gross margin										6,345	6,267	6,294
Selling, general and administrative expenses										(4,745)	(4,638)	(4,376)
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property										343	114	102
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges										(146)	(184)	(118)
Settlement charges										(70)	(64)
Operating income (loss)										1,727	1,495	1,902
Interest (expense) income, net
External										3	1	(1)
Intercompany										139	200	230
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										0	0	0
Income (loss) before income taxes										1,869	1,696	2,131
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)										(313)	(622)	(729)
Net income (loss)										1,556	1,074	1,402
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										11	8	2
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										1,567	1,082	1,404
Comprehensive income										1,668	1,153	1,415
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										11	8	2
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										1,679	1,161	1,417
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Net sales										(7,868)	(8,335)	(8,917)
Cost of sales										7,868	8,335	8,917
Gross margin										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses										0	0	0
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment, Excluding Oil and Gas Property and Timber Property										0	0	0
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges										0	0	0
Settlement charges										0	0
Operating income (loss)										0	0	0
Interest (expense) income, net
External										0	0	0
Intercompany										0	0	0
Premium on early retirement of debt										0
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries										(2,322)	(874)	(1,493)
Income (loss) before income taxes										(2,322)	(874)	(1,493)
Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)										0	0	0
Net income (loss)										(2,322)	(874)	(1,493)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Net income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										(2,322)	(874)	(1,493)
Comprehensive income										(2,594)	(1,100)	(1,535)
Comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interest										0	0	0
Comprehensive income attributable to Macy's, Inc. shareholders										$ (2,594)	$ (1,100)	$ (1,535)