“Very important. You must spot the best deals in two or three shops the week before the sales!” Right from the start, the tone is set. Before embarking on what for some is akin to torture and for others a form of entertainment, Claire Guillou takes her precautions to be sure of her choices, and as she says herself, “to be among the first to be able to buy it.”
Sales are more than just a pleasure, they are a ritual. “I do the summer sales as well as the winter ones. It has become a habit over the years,” explains the young girl. Being foresighted, she tries to think ahead so as to set aside a bit of money and primarily targets items that are deeply discounted: “Sales, yes. But not at any price!” However, Claire admits that an exception can occur: “If I really fall deeply in love with something, I’ll buy it.”
At nearly 22 years old, this student from Nantes would not miss the start of this great bargain hunt for the world. Wednesday, January 10th, the day has arrived. It’s 6 PM. Just out of her exams, Claire hurries to the first shopping mall she comes across, in this case, the one at Carrefour TNL. The marathon can begin.
Focus on a store: Camaieu
Here, all items are on sale. And significantly so: from 20 to 60%. Coats, wool sweaters, and other winter clothes have sold poorly due to the exceptionally mild climate in our region. Hence the major discounts today. The store is crowded, but the scenes of hysteria shown on the news broadcasts are not happening here. The atmosphere is relaxed, helped by the continuous lounge music. But it feels different today. The racks barely live up to their name. It seems to have been a tumultuous day. The numerous tags littering the floor attest to this. All the saleswomen are busy and wiping constantly behind their cash registers. Hard work is underway!
The young girl’s goal: find a “little short-sleeved top.” Her task is not easy. The large store is full of all kinds of items. After a round that could be described as preliminary scouting, her quest begins. Stooped back, head buried in clothes, Claire eagerly scrutinizes every item that might resemble the coveted garment. Her search will not be in vain. After about ten minutes, she emerges from a display with a blue top triumphantly held high. Smiling, she confides, “It’s exactly what I was looking for. Its color and shape caught my eye immediately. The price is appealing too, at 30% off. I’m off to try it on, crossing my fingers!”
Things become significantly complicated when the tedious stage of fitting arrives. A mandatory passage that everyone would like to speed up. To make matters worse, the young student hasn’t chosen just one item, but four. And doubles of each! “I always take all the items I like in two sizes. That way, I almost always find what I want,” she says, her eyes sparkling with impatience. Her excitement before trying them on is palpable. Exceptionally, the wait only lasted a few minutes. She breathes a sigh of relief and enters the fitting room.
Time passes, customers come and go, and Claire tries on clothes… A quarter-hour passes before she exits. The verdict falls: only the blue top suits her. The other items are rejected. The harsh law of fashion strikes again. The obstacle course isn’t over yet. The final step before enjoying her purchases remains: the checkout. And once again, there’s waiting. Claire finally arrives in front of the cashier who, between two “thank you ma’am”s, handles her purchases. She pays: “Got to give the card a workout from time to time!” she jokes.
Claire continues on her way. Each new store will be meticulously searched by the Nantes native, under similar conditions previously described, with varying degrees of success. After an hour and a quarter of frenzied shopping, Claire is pleased with this first day of sales: “I found a set of blue underwear and a nice little top. That works for me. Just a regret for the red ballet flats I was looking for at Jacqueline’s. But well, I’m sure I’ll buy them elsewhere during the second markdown. Nothing is lost!” After all, old habits die hard…
