It’s been a long time coming. As of October 17th, there is a new Nordstrom Rack just in time for some fall shopping.  Located in Oakridge Mall in San Jose. Signs were up city-wide, all month, anticipating the grand opening of the Nordstrom Rack.

As my heart began to race as I entered the new branch of discounted designer merchandise, I was at a halt. And not because I was in awe, but because upon my entrance, I was barely able to physically move.  It may have been because it’s  new, but there were herds of shoppers flooding every isle, making moving from rack to rack take longer than it  took to shop and try-on clothing.

My second time around (two weeks after opening) it was still pretty crowded. However, the crammed environment still bothered me.  Most racks had a very small selection of clothing in any one size, especially mine (a standard small). While one employee told me they get shipments in daily, it looked like a low stock of what had already been there the previous weeks.

Lines for both the dressing rooms and cash registers were wrapped around several surrounding racks both times I was there. The long wait and long line seemed to discourage shoppers form trying clothes on, thus causing doubt about purchases.

I am glad to see a new Nordstrom Rack convenient to San Jose shoppers, and I hope the savings outweigh the distracting high density. I will most likely continue to shop at the Saratoga branch due to the larger store and wider selection. With so much anticipation and hype, it did not meet my expectations. Which store would you prefer to shop?