In this two-week window post Christmas, expect a wave of even deeper deals to hit
If you thought Black Friday sales were the best deals of the year, check out the prices right now on boxed Christmas trees, holiday decorations, winter coats, boots, suits, sweaters, fine jewelry, toys, even rugs.
As savvy shoppers know, the period right after Christmas and into the first two weeks of the New Year offers some of the best deals of the year. The gifting season may be over, but these after-holiday bargains still work for self gifts or for refreshing the home and wardrobe in the New Year.
Lowe’s has 75% off on holiday décor, artificial Christmas trees are up to 60% off at Balsam Hill, Dick’s Sporting Goods’ winter clearance sales include up to 70% off on athletic wear and shoes, Macy’s set an extra 25% off its post-Christmas 40% to 70% off discounts and Gap is offering up to 75% on sweaters, coats, jeans and activewear.
Also, Target’s holiday clearance sales include 50% off on clothing, jewelry, shoes, toys and sporting goods, including bikes.
As the holiday season winds down, Target said its end of year sales are meant to attract people using a new gift card, or getting a jump start on their needs in the new year. Gift cards were expected to be most popular item on holiday wish lists with 53% of shoppers requesting them this year, according to industry trade group the National Retail Federation.
Marla Newman, executive vice president of sales with Raptive (a creator media company), has been studying post-Christmas sales, a period she refers to as retailers’ “fifth quarter.”
It’s the hidden window from post-Christmas into the early part of January when consumers are at home, armed with gift cards, actively looking for deals, relaxing and excited about fresh starts.
“From a consumer behavior perspective, we see four things going on at this time of the year,” said Newman in an interview Bagable.com. She said people are figuring out how to best engage with the downtime after Christmas as more companies give employees time off in the last week of the year.
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales in-store and online (excluding autos) this year from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 rose 3.8% compared to the same period last year. Online sales jumped a more robust 6.7% year-over-year.
Shoppers were very value-driven and many waited until the very last minute to bag the best discounts on gifts, which is why the last five days of the holiday season accounted for 10% of all holiday spending, the Mastercard SpendingPulse report said.
“Consumers are definitely looking for where more deals are to be had,” said Newman. “They’re looking for trends they can tie back to the deals. Also, a long-standing consumer behavior that has only gained momentum is spending on health and wellness needs. Lastly, people are searching for entertainment options.”
She expects retailers are also extra motivated to stretch out holiday sales as much as they can because the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was five days shorter this year compared to a year ago.
“That one less week for sellers is a challenge. They’ve got one week less to drive preference, one week less to push their initiatives,” she said. “So I’ve been hearing a lot in the last couple of weeks from our clients and agency partners about this notion of a ‘fifth quarter.’”
“Depending on who you talk to, whether it's until the first or second week of January, there’s a lot of conversation around it being a time where people are still bargain hunting,” she said.
Walter Holbrook, a long-time retail industry expert, agreed with Newman.
“The post Christmas time period is always an exciting opportunity,” Holbrook told Bagable.com. “[Retailers] use this period to push product they don’t want to carry into 2025. Clearance sales are extremely important, especially on Christmas Decorations, because this is an opportunity for households to build for next year’s holidays at a deal.”
“In other areas, anything related to home, furniture, kitchen appliances also are top of mind for New Year’s shoppers,” he said. “With clothing, late December is an outstanding period for stores to showcase some new Spring items in brighter and lighter colors to help customers be aspirational in the middle of winter.”