5 Tips for Shopping in Hawaii

Before you even get to Hawaii, its reputation for bargain shopping precedes itself. Whenever I said to someone that I was going to Hawaii for my holidays, the first thing they would say is, “Oh you’ll love it. It’s amazing!” The second thing out of their mouth was usually a comment on how terrific the shopping is over there. However, when I then asked them to tell me more about the shopping and what tips they had for getting the best out of the shopping, I found people couldn’t give me too much more information except to re-iterate how wonderful it was. Frustrating!

When I’m travelling overseas and doing a shopping trip, I am very aware that I only have a limited number of hours in which to complete my mission. You usually don’t get to go back for a second go and you certainly don’t get a chance to return or exchange items as you are busy sight-seeing on the other days you are there. Without the knowledge of what you are heading into, you can’t really plan which shops you want to hit and which ones you will do if you have any time left at the end. Sure, you can look things up online, but that only gives you a list of shops located in the centre and a map of where they are, if you are lucky. So I left for Hawaii feeling like I was ‘going in blind’ in regards to the shopping. Sure I had my list of what I wanted to buy, a budget and had looked online, but I didn’t really have a plan of attack. Nor did I know where the discounts or sales were.

Enter the lovely lady who I sat next to on the plane on the way over. Her name was Manny. Manny was from Brisbane and was travelling with her husband and their daughter to Hawaii for their second time. They fell in love with Hawaii last Christmas and were heading back again this holiday season. I asked Manny about the shopping and if she had any tips or advice on how to get the best out of shopping over there. Finally I got the words of wisdom I was waiting to hear and I’m going to share them with you in just a moment. But in order for you to understand them, you need to understand the types of shopping that is in Hawaii.

There are 6 types of shopping you will encounter in Hawaii:

1. Basic needs shopping like food, alcohol, supplies, etc.
2. Souvenir shopping for your touristy trinkets.
3. High end shopping. Full price, top level label shopping such as Cartier or Jimmy Choo.
4. Factory outlet shopping at Waikele Premium Outlets. This is where the bargains are. Labels without paying full retail.
5. General department store shopping. The ones you hear about in TV shows like Macys, Bloomingdales, Sax and Ross’s.
6. Duty free shopping in the airports.

I’m going to focus on numbers 1 and 4, but will briefly discuss 2, 3, 5 and 6.

1. Basic needs shopping – there are 3 stores in which you can do this. At the ABC Stores (and I’m not talking the television station store), Lawson Station or Coco Cove. They are like little general stores. They carry everything from food, drinks and alcohol to sunscreen, toiletries and souvenirs. They are average in price range and will become a frequent stop for you. They are all priced the same, so shopping in one to the other to save money doesn’t come into it. Some might be smaller or bigger in size than the one across the street. You can’t really go too far before tripping over one. Particularly ABC Stores. They are EVERYWHERE! Literally on every corner or at the bottom of each hotel, there they are. I was told that there are 88 ABC Stores on Oahu and 44 of them alone are in Waikiki (how true that statement is I am not sure, but it sure feels correct). Coco Cove is slightly different to the other two in the fact that they have a small deli section where you can get hot and cold meals (they are called a ‘plate lunch’ over there) and they have the most delicious little Hawaiian ice cream balls wrapped in rice paper called Mochi. Sooooo yummy and ideal if you don’t want a big lot of ice cream. My only tip for shopping in these stores is this:

Tip 1: Save your ABC receipts. When they total $100, you get a free gift. Now, this gift may be something small or appear tacky like a souvenir mug, shopping bag or calendar, but it becomes that extra or emergency present for someone back home. It could come in handy. You can even save up more than $100 and receive a better gift like a beach towel.

2. Souvenir shopping – they are also fairly similar in prices and are everywhere. The one place you can go to get things a little cheaper is Duke’s Market Place in Waikiki. These are market stall owners and you can barter with them. It’s the only place you can do this. However, most of their stuff is imported from Asia and not made in Hawaii.
3. High end shopping – along the main strip in Waikiki, Kalakaua Avenue, there are many stores such as Cartier, Jimmy Choo, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, etc. These are glamourous, full price stores and are there to cater for the Asian tourist with the big fat wallets. Unless your wallet is equally as fat, don’t go in there. They don’t take too kindly to window shoppers. You will also find labels such as Victoria Secret, Kate Spade, Coach, Fossil, etc., but shopping in them means you are paying full retail and not getting a bargain.

I’m going to briefly skip to number 5 and 6 for a moment as I have much to tell you in number 4.

5. Department store shopping – These are no different to shopping in Myers, David Jones or even Big W. You may get some discount here if something is on sale, but nowhere near the discount at the factory outlets. Ross’s seems to be the best one for price. For example, I bought a small, hard case, good quality and label, carry-on suitcase at Ross’s to fit all my shopping in to take home for US$50. You will find a number of department stores either on the street or at the Ala Moana Shopping Centre/Mall.
6. Duty free shopping – unless you are planning to consume it in Hawaii, leave any duty free shopping until you re-enter Australia. Duty free isn’t what it used to be years ago. You don’t save too much these days. You are better off doing it at the factory outlets. Duty free is best for alcohol and other consumables. Some perfumes, however, are cheaper if bought in the factory outlets. See if you can get what you want at the outlets, or price it at duty free on departure from Australia so you can compare it in Hawaii. Only buy it duty free upon your return if it was cheaper than in Hawaii.

4. Factory outlet shopping – listen up sistas, because this is where you will find the golden advice that Manny gave me!!!

Shopping at the factory outlets is certainly the way to go if you want the American based labels such as DKNY, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Guess, True Religion, Nine West, Coach, Fossil and the hottest one at the moment, Michael Kors. You won’t really be saving money on the European labels such as Prada, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, etc., as by the time you convert back to the AUS dollar, you will be paying the same as you would in Australia. But if it’s the American based labels you want, then this is the place to go! For example, I bought a US$200 DKNY tote for only US$75! (I shall list all of my bargains at the end of this editorial).

Tip 2: Download or print out the online discount vouchers from the Waikele Premium Outlet‘s website before you go.

Tip 3: Take a shuttle bus to the outlets. It costs about US$15 return and your shuttle bus will give you another set of discount vouchers that a different to the ones you downloaded. You can’t get these if you drive yourself and you won’t have to worry about parking either. Don’t do the expensive “shopping tour” in the travel brochures. That will cost you about US$60 for exactly the same thing. We used the company Roberts Hawaii for our shuttle.

Tip 4: When you land in Honolulu, be on the lookout at the tourist information stands for a flyer advertising the outlets. It has a coupon on it that will not only get you yet another set of discount vouchers, but also either a free shopping bag or a free luggage tag. You can claim these at the outlet information booth. This is also where you will find a complex map of where particular shops are located. Pick yourself up one of those!

Tip 5: Go to the coffee shop, grab yourself a latte and sit down for 5 minutes to read all of your vouchers. Make note of the shops that you MUST go to and visit them first. Leave others on the “if I have time at the end” list. Cross reference the ‘must go to’ shops with your vouchers so you are aware of them before you go in there.

Now that you have a plan of attack, your vouchers, your map, your list of what you want to buy and your budget, GO GET ‘EM! Start at one shop and do a lap of your ‘must do shops’ first. Then go back and do any others if time permits. With this plan, you really can’t go wrong. It worked for me. I even came in US$13.00 under budget!

The final question I had about shopping before I went over to Hawaii was about whether the outlets cater for plus size ladies. I know American ladies can come in many shapes and sizes, so they must have clothing over there for them. But would it be at the Hawaiian outlets? The simple answer here is ‘no’. If you are shopping for accessories like I was or shoes, then you will be in heaven! But not plus sized fashion above the Aussie size 16/18. At least not in the shops I was in.

So what bargains did I walk away with? Well here they are below. I had a budget of US$500 and I walked away with everything on my list, a couple of small extras, and US$13 change. So that you can compare and see the savings, I have given you what I paid for the item, both in US and Australian dollars, what it retails for in the US and how much I saved from buying it at full US retail in US and Australian dollars. Then have compared back to if I had bought it in Australia at full retail in Australian dollars. It has been interesting to crunch the numbers! Conversion rates were correct at time of publication and rounded to the nearest dollar.

Guess Logo Cleopatra Double Pouch Wristlet (I bought 2x black and 1x gold) US$10.00/AUD$14.00 each. Retails at US$23.00/AUD$32.00 each. Saved a total of US$39.00/AUD$54.00.

If I bought these items in Australia, they retail for AUD$50.00 each*, so I saved AUD$108.00 by buying them in Hawaii.

Guess Eyewear US$35.00/AUD$48.00 plus case US$8.00/AUD$11.00. Retails US$50.00/AUD$69.00 plus US$10.00/AUD$14.00. Saved US$18.00/AUD$25.00.

If I bought these items in Australia, they would retail for AUD$130.00 together*, so I saved AUD$71.00 by buying them in Hawaii.

Guess Pave Ring US$10.00/AUD$14.00. Retails US$17.00/AUD$24.00. Saved US$7.00/AUD$10.00.

In Australia, this ring retails for AUD$24.00*, so I saved AUD$10.00 buying it in Hawaii.

*Source for Australian prices – Guess Australia website and Amazon.com.

Michael Kors Emery stone set watch watch US$90.00/AUD$124.00. Retails US$150/AUD$207.00. Saved US$60.00/$83.00.

This watch retails in Australia between AUD$239.00 – $340.00 (Source – various online stores), therefore I saved between AUD$115.00 – AUD$216.00 by buying it in Hawaii.

Michael Kors gold tone crystal pave Astor Stud Bracelet US$22.00/AUD$30.00. Retails US$145.00/AUD$200.00. Saved US$123.00/AUD$170.00.

This bangle retails in Australia between AUD$194.00 – AUD$257.00 (Source – various online stores), therefore I saved between AUD$164.00 – AUD$227.00 by buying it in Hawaii.

Calvin Klein Jordan Shopper Tote US$110.00/AUD$152.00. Retails at US$$180.00/AUD$249.00. Saved US$70.00/AUD$97.00.

I could not find this bag retailing in Australia, but similar CK totes retail for around AUD$340, therefore you could save around AUD$188.00.

Calvin Klein Jordan French Clutch US$44.00/AUD$61.00. Retails at US$98.00/AUD$122.00. Saved US$44.00/AUD$61.00 (50% off!).

Again, I found it difficult to find this item retailing in Australia for around AUD$150.00, so that would be a saving of around AUD$89.00.

DKNY Heritage Coated Logo Zip Tote US$75.00/AUD$104.00. Retails for US$200.00/AUD$277.00. Saved US$125.00/AUD$173.00 (less than half price!!).

In Australia, this item would retail for AUD$329.00 (Source – Myers), therefore I saved AUD$225.00 buying this item in Hawaii.

DKNY Heritage Coated Logo Carryall US$38.00/AUD$53.00. Retails for US$95.00/AUD$131.00. Saved US$57.00/AUD$78.00 (less than half price!!).

In Australia, this item would retail for AUD$140.00 (Source – Shopstyle.com), therefore I saved AUD$87.00 by buying it in Hawaii.

This one’s a present for my mum…

Nine West Frontier Tote Bag US$25.00/AUD$36.00. Retails at US$60.00/AUD$83.00. Saved US$58.00/AUD$47.00 (60% off!!).

Unfortunately, I found it difficult to find anything like it currently retailing in Australia. That’s not to say it’s not, just I couldn’t find it online.

So the tally is this…. I had a budget of US$500.00. I got everything on my list, plus a few extras. The total came to US$487.00! So I came out with US$13.00 change. MISSION COMPLETE!

I’d love to hear about your shopping experiences in Hawaii. Maybe you have a few extra tips. Leave them in the comments below so we can all benefit from them.

Happy shopping, Sistas!