Save Money by Shopping Season End Sales
Whether or not you are the primary shopper in your home for clothing, shoes, accessories, gifts, household items, and so on, you are probably interested in any strategy that can save you money. The mark up on merchandise is typically high, which is one of the reasons that stores can afford to offer discounts on brand new merchandise. This is great for customers who know when to shop in order to take advantage of huge markdowns.
Knowing When the Season Has Ended
It’s a bit tricky to figure out when the season has ended since retailers generally don’t go by the calendar. In fact, each season has been ending earlier and earlier over the years as retailers vie with each other to be the first ones to offer the latest merchandise to customers. In many locations, holidays are no longer respected and Christmas merchandise makes its way into the stores before Halloween has even arrived! So, how can you figure out when the season’s end has arrived so you can take advantage of deep discounts?
The general rule of thumb anymore is that the season’s end, as far as merchandisers are concerned, is about six to eight weeks prior to the next season’s beginning. This means that prices start getting slashed at a greater than 50% discount approximately eight weeks before the next season officially starts according to the calendar. So, summer clearance begins in the beginning of July as fall merchandise begins to make its way into the store.
If you want an easy strategy that you can use to help you figure out when the best deals are, short of signing up for emails and store cards, go window shopping. If the items you see are actually for a different season than the one you are in, walk into the store, navigate to the far back of the store, and shop the bargains that every season’s year end sale has to offer.
How Much Can You Save by Shopping Season’s End Sales?
The sky is actually the limit when it comes to sales like this with the biggest discounts going to those shoppers who are the most patient and the least specific in their intended purchases. If you simply must have a pair of designer jeans in a specific cut and in a certain color, then you are going to save less money than the individual who is only concerned about getting the right size.
Shoppers who want something quite specific cannot afford to wait until the end of the clearance season when the discounts can be as large as 75 to 90%. Seriously, when the racks have diminished in number and there is still fall merchandise to get out, the discounts hit double digits that make your eyes sparkle with the anticipation of saving huge piles of money.
To recap, you can save at least 30% off the original price about two weeks after the merchandise is in the stores. A couple of weeks later, and you can save between 40 and 55%. The longer you wait to do your shopping, the more you can save.
Login or join to post comments.
