A Shopper’s Guide to Outlets

You already know just how much I love to shop, and that love travels with me everywhere I go—especially on vacation…

As I mentioned in my last post, some form of shopping is always incorporated into each of my family vacations, whether that take place in local stores, souvenir shops, or outlet malls notable and well-established within the area. This travel “tradition” has existed within these trips for quite some time, and as a result, I feel as if I’ve been able to maximize my experience at the outlets in the recent past.

In my opinion, taking a trip to the outlets is different than your typical shopping day. While the ~everyday~ trip to the mall may be purely for enjoyment and casual shopping, I tend to have an objective in mind when I’m planning a trip to the outlets. Of course, my experience at the outlets is always enjoyable, but I find that, when I go, I often have a list of items in mind that I’m intending to look for and, potentially, purchase. Maybe it’s because I don’t have an outlet mall THAT nearby my home, or maybe it’s just the nature of the outlet experience…It can’t just be me that does this, right?

With that, here are my top three tips for a successful shopping experience at the outlets…

1. Plan Ahead, and Make a List of the Items You Want to Look For.

As I previously mentioned, when visiting the outlets on vacation, I usually have a list of items in mind that I want to look for and, potentially, purchase, assuming that I like what I see. Let’s be honest, there are SO many—way too many—interesting things to look at when you shop at outlet stores. That’s definitely a part of the fun, I know, but it also makes it all too easy to get caught up in the novelty items and “too good to be true” deals, so much so that you completely forget what you came to look for. I’ll admit it, this exact thing happened to me on my recent trip…I got some really good things, but a few of the items that I intended to look for did not even cross my mind until after I was back from my trip (and keep in mind, we went to the outlets on two different days, once in the beginning of our trip, and again at the end).

So…how do you avoid this? Make a list and bring it with you to the outlets. You can research the stores that are there ahead of time, and then make a list of items, or categories of items, that you are interested in looking at…For example, I’m starting my first corporate job in a little over a month, so one of my “goals” at the outlets was to pick up a few things that would be useful for me in this new chapter of life (Did I make the list? Yes. Did I remember to bring it with me? Of course not.) … Keep in mind, this list is, in no way, meant to restrict your shopping experience. Shopping is supposed to be fun, and I’ve found that making this list, and keeping it with you while you shop, will serve as a much-needed reminder when you’re, inevitably, having too much with all that is around you at the outlets.

2. Wear Shoes that are Comfortable and Suitable for Any Type of Weather.

Spending a day at the outlets means spending a day on your feet. Even though you will, most likely, just be walking several shorter distances from one store to the next, over the course of a day, that adds up. You do not want your shopping experience to be cut short because the shoes that you decided to wear just aren’t cutting it for the amount of time you’re spending up and moving. You also want your choice of footwear to be suitable for any type of weather. A day that starts off bright and filled with sunshine could very easily transition over to one of clouds and rain.

SO, prepare for just about any circumstance and wear shoes that you can walk in and that can also withstand the elements. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with a pair of sneakers or closed-toes shoes, or even a pair of very comfortable, casual sandals on a hot summer day.

3. Prioritize Your Stores.

This last tip comes from my most recent experience at the outlets. Typically, when we get to the outlets, we will park the car near one of the many “entrances”, and simply work our way through the paths of stores until we eventually get back to the place that we started. However, in doing this recently, we found that, due to capacity restrictions, long lines were formed outside of stores by the time we would reach them along our path. This is what, ultimately, caused us to return to the outlets later on in the trip, in order to revisit the stores that we could not easily get into the first time.  

Therefore, when it comes to visiting the outlets again, at least in the near future, I would suggest prioritizing stores, and going first to the ones that will, seemingly, have a wait to get in (the designer stores, specifically). We found, through our second visit, that the stores are not as crowded when you get to them shortly after their opening, and since not all stores will ultimately have a wait time, it may be better to go to stores “out of order” to avoid the, sometimes, inevitable lines later on in the day.

Plan Ahead. Dress Comfortably. Prioritize.—Hopefully these tips allow you to make the most of your next visit to the outlets and, ultimately, have a successful shopping experience!

…What are you waiting for? Go get some good stuff!