Your Guide To Smart Shopping
I love shopping at stores like H&M, ZARA and Topshop, but shopping at these trendy and affordable retailers is no easy feat. It takes determination and great courage to take-on the gazillion racks of great, on-trend pieces, while retaining your mental health. Most importantly, it takes some serious skills to prevail. Here’s a few tips to shopping like a pro, maximizing your time, and walking out victorious — with the goods and your sanity intact.
TIP #1 Get there early
Get up early, pickup your grande caramel macchiato at Starbucks, and head over to the stores around 10am, when most of them start to open. This is the best time to shop because the racks are neatly organized with new inventory and the fitting rooms are tidy and readily available. Some stores, like H&M, get a foot traffic of over 900 shoppers every day after 1pm. That’s your queue to be done and out of there by then.
TIP #2 Shopping in the afternoon
Just because you’re not a morning person doesn’t mean you have to miss out. If the store is crowded, you should shop for things you know will fit so that you don’t have to try them on. This, however, does not mean you should ignore the fitting room. Check the racks back there, sometimes costumer’s castoffs are exactly what you’re looking for.
TIP #3 What are you shopping for?
It’s hard to keep up with the styles these stores carry. Sometimes it seems like you get a catalog in the mail, and from the time it takes you to get from the house to the store, they already have a new collection. Yes, I do recommend that you sign up to receive the catalogs of your favorite stores in the mail, but no, I do not expect you to know exactly what you’re shopping for every time you go there. However, you should have an idea of what you’re in the mood for — is it a cocktail dress for graduation? Or perhaps a suit for your buddy’s wedding. Knowing these things will help you map out your plan-of-action upon arrival.
PS: The items you see in a window display, are usually located at the front of the store. I learned this from doing visual merchandising for Saks Fifth Avenue.
TIP #4 Be thorough
Don’t leave the store without hitting up the accessories department. Don’t be fooled, these stores have the inexplicable ability to turn out rich-looking accessories that can easily be mistaken for designer jewelry. Most of them are also coming up with designer collaborations, so be sure to check out those departments too. All the designer stuff is usually kept together in one area. Also, some of the larger American Apparel stores carry the chain’s California Select collection of vintage clothing and accessories—it’s super rad!
Finally
Don’t frown if your trip was a miss. These stores get new shipments every single day. Try again the following morning. On that same note, this also means if you see something you want, you’d better snatch it up. It may not be there next time you come back.
I hope this helps improve your shopping experience. After all, it should be just that — an experience. An enjoyable one at that. So what are you waiting for? Go shop!
Find your nearest stores:
H&M | ZARA | Topshop | Forever21 | American Apparel | Urban Outfitters | Mango
