Retail

Macy's just spent millions to build a 'millennial floor' — here's what it's like to shop there

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macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

Macy's wants to win over millennials. 

The brand just opened "One Below," a 53,000 square-foot basement in its New York City Herald Square flagship that Women's Wear Daily calls a "millennial floor." 

Selfies, printable jewelry, watch engraving, jean embroidery and a blowout bar are just a few things Macy's thinks millennials want.

We visited the site to see for ourselves. 

Macy's flagship store at Herald Square features One Below — part of a $400 million project to renovate the store.

Macy's flagship
Marina Nazario/ Business Insider

Upon entering the newly renovated basement of the store, I was greeted by a platinum-haired Miley Cyrus and the sound of electronic music blasting through the speakers.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

The first station I came to was the Benefit Brow Bar for shaping and coloring eyebrows.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

Department stores are notorious for their makeup counters, but One Below will offer a blowdry bar as well. Hair is just as important as makeup.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

The floor carried a variety of brands for juniors such as BCBGeneration, XOXO, Jessica Simpson, American Rag, and Calvin Klein. The selection of clothes were in line with current fashion — brown leather, fur and high-waisted pants. Although there wasn't anybody on the floor to help me.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

The decoration of One Below is filled with bright colors, sparkles, chic mannequins, and a ton of mirrors.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

Macy's has a section of the store dedicated to Homecoming. It includes a variety of long and short dresses — mostly covered in sequins.

Macy's One Below
Marina Nazario

There's an immense purse and backpack selection. Designers such as Vera Bradley, Kipling and Calvin Klein offer bags in all shapes and sizes for business, school, and going out.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

Next came the section dedicated to leggings. It seemed like an endless variety of styles, colors, and patterns to choose from.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

And with leggings comes UGGs. Lots and lots of UGGs. But there is also a decent shoe selection with heels, ankle, and knee-high boots.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

I then visited Clinique's makeup and skin care area of One Below. Here a cosmetologist gave me a test that told me my skin type and recommended which product would best cleanse my skin. She also helped me choose which colors would go well with my skin tone and created a sketch before application. MAC is the other cosmetics counter on the floor.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

This is the charging station — complete with a selfie wall. Take a shopping break, plug in your phone and upload your most glamorous selfie with the hashtag #macyslove to make the wall. The wall is touchscreen and allows for customers to take a selfie with a popular New York City destination, because FOMO.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider

Finally, I came to the men's section of One Below. It heavily featured men's undergarments, with brands such as: Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Jockey, Under Armour, and Michael Kors. It also includes a section for sunglasses, briefcases, wallets, backpacks, and belts.

Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/Business Insider
Macy's one below
Marina Nazario/ Business Insider

I walked into One Below thinking the atmosphere was going to be overdone and stereotypical of what people perceive the millennial generation to be.

I was half correct.

It was stereotypical of the perception of Millennials. The selfie wall, mirrors everywhere, charging station, and ability to engrave your face on a Fossil watch or embroider your initials on your jeans completely catered to belief that this generation is narcissistic and obsessed with social media.

But it wasn't overdone. In fact, I was surprised that the atmosphere and the products being sold weren't too aggressive — to the point where I thought it was missing something. Perhaps a Starbucks?

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Marina is a retail intern for Business Insider. She graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2015 with a degree in communications and political science. She previously interned for the New York Mets in media relations.