The duo behind the popular Instagram account The Devils Wear Zara, Mimi Postigo and Lauren Eggertsen, like to joke they aren’t the fast-fashion retailer’s customer service arm (they’re both editors at Who What Wear, after all), but their latest findings are maybe more helpful than a call to 411. The duo took to Instagram Stories asking former Zara employees to reach out with tips, resulting in a massive aggregation of shopping hacks compiled from 123 people to help shoppers save money — without having to wait for Zara’s massive summer sale.
The biggest takeaway? Hold out of for as long as you can before you buy something, as it’ll probably be eventually marked down. One former employee noted shoppers can always tell when a piece is about to go on sale by its hanger placement on the rack. Apparently, Zara will reposition items, grouping pieces together by price point so they can pack as much inventory onto the floor as possible.
And even once the item is on sale, there is still a change you can save even more money. Take the summer sale, for instance. One person told The Devil Wears Zara that the best time to shop is during the third week [of a sale] when you can get items for up to 75% off, as opposed to the first week when pieces are only discounted up to 25% off. “It’s better to wait two to three weeks for the best sale prices,” according to the tipster. As for what day to shop the sale, Thursday morning’s are best as sale markdowns happen on Wednesday evenings. Finally, if you played the waiting game for too long, and the items sells out, Who What Wear notes you should save the online link to the product because Zara often restocks their website during sales based on returns.
Now that you’re armed and ready, fire up your Zara apps and start plotting your attack.