Written by 
Article content
Travellers heading to catch a flight at YVR on Boxing Day, one of the busiest travel days of the year, encountered brutal Boxing Day traffic as shoppers headed to Richmond’s McArthurGlen Designer Outlet.
Drivers who waited up to 90 minutes just to cross the Arthur Laing Bridge may have wondered whether someone else’s discounted hoodie was worth the price they paid in fuel and frustration.
Article content
Traffic was at a virtual standstill for most of the day heading to the normally quiet outlet mall, with Richmond police and RCMP directing incoming vehicles.
SkyTrain, running on a Saturday schedule, was gorged with hopeful shoppers — and more than a few annoyed travellers heading to YVR.
Deep Boxing Day discounts on electronics in Vancouver’s stores downtown are largely past history thanks to pre-holiday sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but outlet malls are having a moment.
At McArthurGlen, the parking lot was full and there were long lineups at Nike, North Face, Ralph Lauren, as well as the public washrooms.
Despite the hype, the discounts were questionable.
At Aritzia, their trademark Super Puff short jacket was still full price for anyone who wanted the popular matte black or tan. On the discount racks? The shiny, metallics, the lurid greens and purples.
The same was true at many other stores. There were bargains to be had, but shoppers were shelling out for the top-tier styles, even when the discounts were moderate at best (classic UGGs were just 15 per cent off).
Article content
So if it isn’t really about once-in-a-lifetime deals, why bother?
As with many aspects of the holiday season, there may be an element of ritual, tradition, and shared experience at play.
Although in Commonwealth countries, Boxing Day was traditionally a day for the moneyed classes to present gifts to the poor, or to employees, in Canada it evolved into a shopping day and, thanks to a statutory holiday, an opportunity to continue getting together and celebrating
For Edmund Wen of Richmond and Anthony Lu of North Delta, lining up at the Nike store was just good fun — whether they got anything good was a secondary consideration.
“I like the vibe, the music, the festive atmosphere,” said Lu.
“It doesn’t really matter what style I get,” said Wen. “I just want any pair of shoes.”
Richard and Jill Go, shopping with friends Mathew and Krystal Chu, said they had great success and scored discounts on exercise clothes, shirts, crocs and baby clothes, but it was also about being together, and wrapping the holiday up with one more day of hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
The best part?
A pause in the rain, a bit of blue sky, and that pleasurable sense of hope — the inkling that perhaps if you wait in the right line, and long enough, you will be rewarded with something that makes it all worthwhile.
In other words, it might just be the journey, and not the destination.
Unless, of course, you were one of the travellers stuck in the Boxing Day traffic chaos on your way to the airport.
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network