Eric Harrison, 27, was fatally stabbed at the store in Center City just days before Christmas in 2023.
Court documents claim his death could have been prevented if the retailer had taken steps to protect employees from the increasingly "brazen and violent thefts."
"There were cries for help among the employees and they learned, in response for stabbing jackets - they were told 'nobody has been stabbed yet,'" said attorney Eric Zajac.
His family is now seeking at least $150,000 in damages in a wrongful death lawsuit against Macy's Retail Holdings and the city.
This comes a week after the knife-wielding suspect pled guilty to Harrison's murder.
The suit claims in the months before his death, there had been 1,000 reported thefts at the store.
"This whole incident, this tragedy, could have been prevented if they didn't show negligence and just drop the ball," said Harrison's father, Eric Coates.
"He didn't die at the hospital. He died on the sales floor. Two days later the business was back open, and I understand the bottom line and things like that, but the reason we're filling this is I don't want this to happen to anyone else's child," said Harrison's mother, Dawn.
The lawsuit also blames a decision by the D.A.'s office to treat all retail thefts under $500 as a lower-level crime.
District Attorney Larry Krasner repealed the policy earlier this year to combat rising retail thefts across the city.
In a statement, Macy's officials said the company is heartbroken about the tragedy, but declined to comment further because of pending litigation.