Thousands of people stood in line for hours — some even waiting overnight — for a clothing sale in Vancouver this week, in what one consumer expert says is a reflection of clever marketing and the cost-of-living crisis.
The Aritzia warehouse sale has been a late-summer tradition for years, and it seems to keep growing in popularity, especially among Gen Z women.
It kicked off on Monday with a friends and family sale before opening to the general public on Tuesday.
Olivia Brown and two of her friends brought chairs and a towel to stay in line overnight before the store opening.
“I didn’t sleep,” she said.
The Aritzia warehouse sale, an annual event that sees thousands rummaging through piles of discounted clothing items and accessories, has returned to the Vancouver Convention Centre. Friends and Family Day began Monday, and the event opened to the public on Tuesday.
The company was founded in Vancouver in 1984 and now has more than 100 stores across North America.
“It’s not organized at all, everything’s everywhere,” Stella Walle-Jensen said after going through the warehouse. “But honestly, as long as you dig through piles, you’ll find stuff.”
Major sales become social events
Melise Panetta, a marketing lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics in Waterloo, Ont., said multiple factors bring momentum to major sale events like these, including the high cost of living that has made it harder for young people to make big purchases.
High-profile sales also make people feel less buyer’s remorse or regret, she said, because they can justify their purchases by saying “it’s once a year” or “everyone is doing it.”
“These type of movements sort of take a bit of a life of their own, and what ends up happening is it’s almost like logic is no longer playing a big role in the decision-making process,” Panetta told CBC News.
She compared the Aritzia craze to Black Friday sales, saying the limited-time promise of items marked down by up to 50 per cent is a major psychological driver for consumers by creating a sense of scarcity.
Panetta said people are also more likely to make a purchase after waiting hours in line even if the deals aren’t as good as they’d hoped. That’s because their time spent in line becomes a “sunk cost,” making consumers feel that if they don’t buy something, they’ve wasted their time.
But the whole thing also becomes a major social event, she said, which brings value beyond the shopping itself.
“It’s your quote-unquote day out. Girls’ day or shopping day or whatever it is that they’re doing to make it into a thing,” she said. “Because really, nobody needs clothes that bad.”
Panetta said the social aspect is a major driver especially for Gen Z, with trends like TikTok “Shein hauls” — named for the inexpensive fast fashion brand — that encourage people to show off their clothing purchases online.
Some waiting in line early this week said they were hoping to snag “super puff” jackets, which can regularly go for several hundred dollars.
‘Minimalist’ clothing has broad appeal: stylist
Vancouver stylist Kam Bhalla told CBC Radio’s On the Coast that the brand’s “minimalist esthetic” appeals across generations and demographics, with items like the bodysuit and the dress-style “effortless pants” being among the most popular.
She said Aritzia exploded after the COVID-19 pandemic and has been boosted by celebrity endorsements from the likes of Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.
“Whether it’s the teenager to the working mom to the stay-at-home mom, it speaks to everybody,” Bhalla said.
The sale continues through Monday at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
