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SALT LAKE CITY — It's a scene that has played out again and again in Utah: massive crowds lined up for the latest out-of-state chain to set up shop in the Beehive State.
Last week it was Trader Joe's. The new Salt Lake City store reported a record-breaking number of shoppers at Friday's grand opening.
Before that, we've watched people crowd in and camp out for everything from IKEA to iPhones, Chick-fil-A to Crate and Barrel, In-N-Out Burger all the way back to Incredible Universe in the ‘90s.
"If we build it, they will come. That's something that we've proven in our state that people do," said Marty Carpenter, communications director for the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce.
If we build it, they will come. That's something that we've proven in our state that people do.
–Marty Carpenter, Salt Lake Chamber
Carpenter grew up in Utah and remembers the days of driving to Nevada for a Krispy Kreme doughnut. In fact, many popular chains used to be a vacation-only destination.
"It used to be that there were stores that were only in California, or only in Colorado, or wherever else they may be; and now they're treating Salt Lake like the same type of market," Carpenter said.
In a 2009 interview, Arul Mishra, an assistant professor of marketing at the David Eccles School of Business, said there are two reasons why people camp out for events: offers of free merchandise and the thrill of being among the first to experience something.
"They have this self-image that they think of themselves as innovators or early adopters," Mishra said. "They usually think of themselves as experts on whatever it is they're waiting for, and they want to be among the first to acquire or have this product so they can go out and tells others."
#poll
We asked friends on the KSL TV Facebook page why they think Utahns are willing to brave the elements for some chicken nuggets or a burger.
"We get those stores so long after everybody else that we are so excited to finally get them," wrote Sarah Larsen Gordon Beck.
Jacob Schlegel posted, "We're actually becoming a real city, and not some town in the middle of nowhere!"
"Now if we could just get an American Girl doll store," Heather Newman Haslam wrote.
Eventually, the hype over a new store does wear off. But Mishra said in those opening hours, social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook create even more excitement about the urgent feeling for waiting in line.
