OK ladies, now that you have seen my look from the grand opening, it’s time for the information post.
Here are the top FAQs and answers:
- When are the other locations opening? – Vaughn Mills and Newmarket are opening on October 6th 2015 and Scarborough is opening on November 17th, 2015.
- Are there plans to open more stores? YES!!!! Torrid would like to open an additional 10 stores in Canada in 2016. Ladies, they are taking this Canadian expansion seriously. And for you west and east coast babes, they haven’t forgot about you!
- Can you ship to store? – Yes, however, you will still have to pay duty when you pick up your order.
- Are they going to offer better shipping rates or free shipping now that they are in Canada? – For this week, to celebrate, they are offering a special shipping promotion of $10 flat rate to your home or the store. Ladies, take advantage of this! For the long term they are working on better shipping options so that they can lower the cost. I want you to know that they honestly hear their customer and understand our frustration and they are working on it! And they hope to have ship to store for free available at some point in 2016.
- Why do I still have to pay duty still on online orders? – Since my day job is in the business world, I can answer this one for you. To not charge duty, they would have to have a Canadian distribution center. This is something that is not economically feasible when you only have a few store locations. As they build their store presence in Canada, this will happen. You have to remember how long it took for Canadian brands to offer online shopping in the first place and they don’t even have ship to store right now. As well, think about the fact that Torrid has actually come to Canada and other US retailers have not. Or to be fair, do you remember how long Lane Bryant had shipping to Canada unavailable until they could work out the proper system – it took over a year!
- How are the prices compared to the US? – So being the accountant that I am, this was a critical question for me, especially with the current exchange rate. I did my research in the store by doing some price comparisons to the website. For example, I bought a dress in store that was $82.50 CAD. It sells for $68.50 US on the website. That means the price is 20% higher in Canada. The current exchange rate is about 1.35 when you pay with a Canadian credit card. And don’t forget, if you were shopping in the US, you were also paying US sales tax. In Buffalo and Niagara Falls NY, that ranges from 4 to 8.75%. So even if you factor in the higher sales tax rate in Ontario of 13% you are actually better off buying in store in Canada.
- Do they have the Torrid Insider Reward program? – Yes they do! And if you are already signed up as a member in the US, your card also works in Canada. If you are not a Torrid Insider, you will get an additional 10% off your first purchase for signing up. Click here to sign up and get all the details on this amazing reward program.
- Do they have the Torrid credit card? – Not yet. They are currently working on finding a banking partner here in Canada. They hope to have this available sometime in 2016.
- Will they be doing Haute Cash promotions like they do in the US? – YES!!!! You will be able to earn Haute Cash on your purchases starting with the next Haute Cash promotion period which will start in late October. Click here for details on the Haute Cash program.
- Torrid recently introduced a size 6 and 30 in select items – will everything be available in these sizes? – YES!!! I am happy to report that all items will be available in a size 6 and 30 sometime in 2016. This size will only be available online.
- I haven’t seen any jeans or pants in a size 30, will they be coming out? YES!!!!!! OK, so for a girl who carries her weight in her hips and thighs this was probably my number one question that pertains to me and I couldn’t be more excited. Torrid has a very rigorous fit testing process for their jeans and the size 30 is currently going through that process. They hope to be releasing them later this fall. I will keep you posted on this one.
- Now that you are carrying a size 6 and 30, will size 5 and 28 be available in store? – YES!!!!!! Ok, you will have to excuse my excitement on this one but this is ah-mazing! You should start to see them in store later this fall and in early 2016.
Well that’s all for now ladies. If you have a question I haven’t answered, please send me a message and I will find the answer for you! I hope you find this helpful.
Click here to check out my earlier post highlighting my outfit and the store opening.
Don’t forget to tag your looks #LisaHeartsTorrid