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Travelers hoping to catch a flight at YVR on Boxing Day, one of the busiest travel days of the year, encountered heavy Boxing Day traffic on the way to the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Richmond.

Motorists who waited up to 90 minutes 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.

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Traffic heading to the normally quiet outlet mall was virtually at a standstill for most of the day, with Richmond police and RCMP directing arriving vehicles.

The SkyTrain, which runs Saturdays, was full of hopeful shoppers — and not just a few disgruntled travelers heading to YVR.

Deep Boxing Day discounts on electronics at downtown Vancouver stores are largely a thing of the past thanks to pre-holiday sales like Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, but outlet malls are having a moment.

At McArthurGlen, the parking lot was full and there were long lines at Nike, North Face, Ralph Lauren and the public restrooms.

Despite the hype, the discounts were questionable.

At Aritzia, the signature Super Puff cropped jacket was still available at full price for anyone who wanted the popular matte black or brown. On the discount shelves? The shiny metallic tones, the bright greens and purples.

The same was true for many other businesses. There were bargains, but shoppers spent their money on the top models, even if the discounts were modest at best (classic UGG shoes were only 15 percent off).

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So if it’s not really about one-off offers, why bother?

As with many aspects of the holidays, there may be an element of ritual, tradition, and shared experiences at play.

While Boxing Day in Commonwealth countries was traditionally a day for the wealthy classes to give gifts to the poor or employees, in Canada it evolved into a shopping day and, thanks to a public holiday, an opportunity to continue to come together and celebrate

For Edmund Wen of Richmond and Anthony Lu of North Delta, waiting in line at the Nike store was just fun – whether they got something good was secondary.

“I like the mood, the music, the festive atmosphere,” Lu said.

“It doesn’t really matter what style I choose,” Wen said. “I just want any pair of shoes.”

Richard and Jill Go, who went shopping with their friends Mathew and Krystal Chu, said they had great success and received discounts on workout clothes, shirts, crocs and baby clothes, but it was also about being together and enjoying the holiday with one more To end the day hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.

The best part?

A break in the rain, a bit of blue sky, and that pleasant feeling of hope – the sense that if you wait long enough in the right line, maybe you’ll be rewarded with something that will make it all worthwhile.

In other words, it could just be the journey and not the destination.

Unless, of course, you were one of the travelers stuck in Boxing Day traffic chaos on the way to the airport.

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