6 ways to navigate holiday shopping at West Ed

How many thousands of people walk through the doors of the venerable West Edmonton Mall every day?   And how many thousands more during the Christmas shopping season?  But truth be told, you wouldn’t want to shop anywhere else.  Yes, there are lineups.  Yes, there will be a bit of chaos and you might be tempted to avoid the mall even though you know you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for there.  But just like a boy scout, be prepared and you’ll be in and out with your purchases before you can say Bah – Humbug.

Start with Research

Spend some quality time with yourself shopping online to save time and make your dollar stretch farther.  Bring up your favourite West Ed retailers and check for sales.  If there’s ever a time to not pay full price for stuff, Christmas is the season.  Any sales you find on the internet should also be offered in-store.  To that end, watch for Black Friday sales.  That’s the day after American Thanksgiving which is the last Thursday in November.  Many stores offer Black Friday pricing the entire last week of November with price reductions of up to 50%.

Map Out your Day

Here’s an interesting thought.  If you were to visit each store or service in West Edmonton Mall, you could spend three days in the mall.  That’s three 24-hour days. But the good news is, no one really needs to visit each store so you can likely pare it down to just one day.  Figure out where all the stores you want to visit are – which section, what level and where to park.  The West Ed website has a printable map.  Take a highlighter and plan a route.  It should help you shop efficiently, unless you’re the kind of shopper who likes to wander.

Pick your day

Here’s a tip – the quietest days at West Edmonton Mall are Mondays and Tuesdays.  The best time of day, meaning, the least busy, are early in the morning and later in the evening right before closing.  If you work and the only days you can shop are on the weekend, best to get there right when the doors open. That’s when the least number of people have ventured out.

Don’t make it social

A day out with your mom or girlfriends can be a lot of fun.  Stop for lunch, try on clothes.  It’s a great way to spend a Saturday but not when you have some serious shopping to get done. Stay on point, stick to the route, focus on the task at hand. 

More about parking

West Ed may be one of Canada’s largest malls but it also has the world’s biggest parking lot.  There are at least 20,000 parking spaces with a further 10,000 spots for overflow.  It’s hard to believe that the mall might contain that many people all at one time but it can.  The best resource to check West Ed parking traffic is via Twitter.  The mall’s Twitter handle is @Official_WEM with staff constantly tweeting out where good parking spots are.

What to bring

Wear a backpack.  You could call it a Holiday Shopping Survival Pack.  Worn on your back, it will free up your hands to carry your shopping bags full of gifts.  In your survival back, bring a water bottle, your shopping list, a snack for quick energy or money for the food court, your route map of the mall, your wallet full of credit cards and if you have room, a change of shoes.  Tired feet can be rejuvenated just by switching up your shoes.

Happy shopping!