6 stores. One price feed.

Both sit in the middle of the market, but they don't sell the same catalog. Macy's is a mall-anchor department store leaning on national apparel and beauty brands alongside its own labels — INC International Concepts, Style & Co, Alfani, Charter Club. Kohl's is off-mall and value-led, with Sonoma Goods for Life, Croft & Barrow and Apt. 9 filling the racks and Sephora counters inside the stores. Own labels never cross between them, so the products you can genuinely compare are the national brands both chains carry.

The policies differ more than the prices. As of 2026, Macy's refunds its own price drops within 10 days of the order date and does not match competitors (mattresses are the one exception). Kohl's gives 14 days from a dated receipt and, according to its FAQ, matches a competitor's in-store price when you bring the ad — but not competitors' online prices, Amazon included. Neither policy helps if the item costs less elsewhere, so start with the item: find it here, and if it carries a UPC we show what both stores charge for it today.

Nordstrom is the premium full-line store of the pair: heavier on designer and contemporary labels, with in-house lines like BP., Zella, Halogen and Treasure & Bond. Macy's runs broader and lower, covering mid-market apparel, home and beauty. They overlap in the middle — the contemporary and beauty brands both carry — and that overlap is where a comparison is worth making at all. Below it, Macy's is usually the only one stocking the item; above it, Nordstrom is.

On policy the two now look alike. As of October 2026 Nordstrom adjusts a full-price item within 10 days of purchase or shipment, one adjustment per item, and its pricing policy says it no longer price matches other retailers. Macy's refunds its own price drops within 10 days of the order date and matches nobody either (mattresses aside). The fine print differs: Nordstrom excludes items bought on sale, while Macy's excludes Last Act and as-is furniture and won't combine the new price with promo codes already used. Since neither store will match the other, the useful move on a shared item is to compare the two prices here and buy the cheaper one.

These two compete for the same shopper and stock a similar mix: mid-market apparel and home goods, most of it under house labels. JCPenney leans on Liz Claiborne, St. John's Bay, Arizona Jean Co., Stafford and Worthington; Kohl's on Sonoma Goods for Life, Croft & Barrow, Tek Gear and So. Because so much of both catalogs is exclusive, the overlap is narrower than the storefronts suggest — national brands and, in home, the shared vendor lines.

Their price guarantees are the closest thing to a tiebreaker. As of 2026, JCPenney's Lowest Price Guarantee refunds the difference if the price drops within 14 days of purchase and its price match is one of the broadest of the six stores we track — competitors in store and online, including items sold directly by Amazon, year-round. Kohl's also gives 14 days on adjustments but, according to its FAQ, limits matching to competitors' in-store prices (plus Kohls.com prices in store). Both run promotions almost weekly, which is why the useful question is what a specific item did, not what the banner says. Look it up here and the chart answers it.

Same parent company, two separate stores. Nordstrom is the full-line banner carrying current-season and designer merchandise; Nordstrom Rack is its off-price sister, selling past-season and overstock inventory on nordstromrack.com at its own prices. An item's price at one says nothing about its price at the other, and a lot of Rack stock never appears on the full-line site at all — which is why we track the two as separate stores rather than folding them together.

The policies split the same way. As of October 2026, Nordstrom adjusts full-price items within 10 days of purchase or shipment and, per its pricing policy, no longer price matches competitors. Nordstrom Rack does neither: no matching, no adjustments, on the grounds that Rack prices change often. That makes history the only way to read a Rack price — the 14-day chart on any product page here shows whether today's number is actually its recent low. When the same UPC is live at both banners, we show them side by side so you can take the cheaper one instead of asking anybody to match it.

Bloomingdale's is the upscale banner of the same parent company as Macy's, and the two are run as different stores for different shoppers. Bloomingdale's carries designer and contemporary labels plus its own Aqua line; Macy's covers the mid-market with INC, Style & Co and Charter Club. The shared ground is the beauty hall and the contemporary brands both stock — that is where the same UPC turns up at both stores and a price comparison actually means something.

Neither one matches competitors as of 2026. Macy's refunds its own price drops within 10 days of the order date, and you have to ask. Bloomingdale's reportedly works on a similar 10-day window, counted from the in-store purchase or the order's shipment date; we couldn't read its own article, so confirm the details with the store. Shared corporate parent, no shared pricing: the practical move is to compare the item across both and buy where it's cheaper, which is exactly what the cross-store view on a product page here is for.