Nordstrom

Nordstrom is a department-store name for people who want clothing, shoes, beauty counters, and the kind of service that still includes alterations and in-store help. By our assessment, its strongest point is the mix of upscale merchandise and customer service; that combination is why the name carries so much weight in American retail. The downside is that a department store is always a compromise: prices are not bargain-basement, and the format depends on keeping a lot of stock moving through a very broad floor. In practice Nordstrom feels polished but not flashy, with a focus on fittings, returns, and guided shopping rather than impulse buying. Compared with big-box discounters or pure online fashion sellers, it sits in the more traditional middle ground, and that middle ground is where it is most distinct. It is a US retailer first, not a general online marketplace.