First thing on the first day or at the very end to get the biggest discounts, when is it most strategic to go on sale?
The winter sales start this Wednesday, for 4 weeks. If you want the coat of your dreams, you might not have to wait too long this year. Indeed, the month of December was good for French traders, with an increase in their turnover of 2.6% compared to 2023, according to figures from the Commerce Alliance. Which means that there are fewer products on sale this January.
But the principle of markdowns remains the same: increasingly significant reductions in store over the weeks but available stocks decrease. And that’s the whole point of sales.
First come, first served logic
“This allows traders to sell off their stocks at the end of the season,” explains Yohann Petiot, general director of the Commerce Alliance.
This is the difference between this sales period and other promotional periods such as Black Friday or private sales.
“This is also the only time when they are authorized to sell at a loss if they want to,” continues Yohann Petiot. “If the trader really wants to sell a stock and he does not succeed, at the end of the sales, he might be tempted to have a higher markdown rate to make him leave.”
You should therefore not delay too much, advises the latter: “if there is really a product that you want, the longer you wait, the greater the risk that it will no longer be there. So you should still not expect too much.”
On the internet, bigger discounts from the start
This year again, the discounts will be greater as we get closer to the end of the sales. A truth that is a little more nuanced on the internet. Online, offers are more regular, even during sales. You will find -50% offers on a whole range of products from day one.
Inventory management on online sales sites is simpler, with less risk for the merchant of ending up with an item on their hands. Result: for the consumer, there is less interest in waiting for the second, third or fourth markdowns on the Internet. It is also to stick to these tempting Internet offers that stores have been displaying very significant discounts from the start for several years.
And the prices?
However, how can we be sure that the prices are really attractive? Look carefully at the price displayed on the label rather than the discount percentage, the latter can be confusing. You must raise this price and come back to the store in a week or two (if it is not the only item in stock). You will decide at that moment if you still wait or if you give in.
Sofiane Aklouf with Pauline Ducamp
