The psychology of sample sales

The festive season is close, and that can only mean one thing – sample sales are only a few weeks away. Every year, in the run-up to Christmas, a lot of brands, specifically small to mid-sized ones, launch a sample sale, to get quick cashflow and make the absolute most out of the shopping season. When you type in sample sales on any of the social media platforms, you either get advertisements or overwhelmingly emotional content of people attending these kinds of events. They might get up in the middle of the night to be first in line, they might create a whole survival package for the occasion, or they might livestream the whole experience, including their screaming, crying, and throwing up. Of course, sample sales are a lucrative way of snapping up a piece way below the retail price, but what is the psychology behind it all? Why all of a sudden do people lose all control once they enter them?

Two days ago, the TikToker Sophie Pav published a video, where she took her viewers through the process of the sample sale by The Row. The brand is known for its unaccessible price point, therefore on of their sample sales is an opportunity to score something expensive rather affordably. To get a «good spot in the queue,» Pav left her home around 4 a.m., yet she wasn’t properly let in until the afternoon. She even took a folding chair, and by 9:41 am, she and her peer realised that there were about 120 people in front of them. Around midday, she realised that there was supposed to be a sample sale for Jimmy Choo as well – in chaotic manner, people couldn’t spot their right queue, and everyone went to The Row sample sale instead. When they finally got in around 1 p.m., she describes the scenario like this: «It was a disaster: there was nothing left, two resellers in the fitting room grabbed ten pairs of gala pants and were taking pictures of them, one girl stole a bag that my friend got.» She got a pair of her dream shoes, which were not worth the wait, she said. Allover, in her video, she stated that the whole thing was «so so so stupid», and that she will never go to a sample sale again, although she was happy to have spent so many hours of the day with her friends.

Earlier this year, the Chloë Sevigny Sample Sale - also known as The Sale of The Century - took place in New York City. Not only the fashion crowd, but the whole internet went crazy. It almost felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be half as cool as Chloë herself. The turnover was crazy – kilometre-long queues blocking off the blocks of the city. People queuing for other people who can’t be bothered to queue in exchange for money. It was more madness than the Dover Street Market sample sale that took place around the same time in London. Tara Gonzales, Senior Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar US, was one of the few ones, who couldn’t go, so naturally, her boyfriend had to go for her. She gave him a list with vague instructions of what she would like, including everything plaid, MiuMiu and Yohji Yamamoto. «He told me he understood the task at hand, though he didn’t believe me when I tried to insist that this isn’t a test of our relationship,» she writes. The night before, he prepared by looking through the Chloë Sevigny Rizzoli book. 

Sample sales are a strange thing when it comes to the psychology of shopping. It is almost equivalent to a gold rush, as you fall into survival mode, just like you would if you were jumping out of a plane, or quickly have to save your life in some other obscure way. In the book, Deep Fashion State of Mind, the authors cite a key statement by Jean-Noël Kapferer, which says, «The dream triggers the purchase, but the purchase destroys the dream.» In the case of Chloë Sevigny, the dream existed for so long – in all honesty, who did not wish to be like Chloë one day, even if it was just for a few seconds? The sample sale announcement triggered this dream, but fulfilling the dream is a whole other thing. As Kapferer said, the purchase destroys it – all the visions you had immediately become less interesting once you swiped your card. Desire is what makes it special, and once that desire is fulfilled, the mind wanders to find the next desirable object. For Gonzalez, Chloë Sevigny was a formative figure, showing her what confidence looks like – adopting this style into her wardrobe made her feel safe – she helped her find her style. As Faith wanted it, her partner couldn’t get in, due to the long queues. She told him it’s alright since you can’t buy what we truly desired, namely Sevigny's inherent coolness. For those who have been waiting for a new opportunity to access the iconic it-girl's wardrobe, fear not: only a few days ago, Sevigny seems to have announced on her IG stories a new sample sale coming soon.