After Christmas Sales...
Sale windows, progressive sales & catchy promotions
I seldom write about retail stores outside the category of locally owned small businesses, but this year I seem to have extra inquiries regarding after-Christmas sales and end-of-year clearance opportunities. So, I thought it might be helpful to examine what the chain stores are doing and then I’ll share input from nine small business retailers, too.
Most big box and chain stores already have some sort of sales going on for holiday-specific merchandise. I expect the majority of them will have ALL holiday on sale by 12/25 and then increase the sale percentage on New Years Day.
Based on the last few years and contacts I have in several stores, here is a summary of what sales are happening soon and the discounted percentages:
Michaels has 40% off today and up to 70% off all Christmas trees. They already had 60% off some holiday brands as early as last week and they will increase the discount on holiday-specific products to 80% off on 12/18 and continue through January. In the past, any leftover items are listed on the clearance page of the website and relegated to the Clearance aisle at 90% off.
Target has some BOGO 25% and BOGO 40% going on already On Dec. 26, all holiday will be at 50% off followed by up to 70% off by 12/31. On Jan. 4, holiday will go to 90% off. Note: On Dec. 27 Target will begin the semi-annual toy clearance.
Lowes has holiday at 50% off since 12/9. On 12/18 the discount will increase to 75% and then to 90% on 12/24 and into January.
Home Depot will begin their real clearance on 12/26, with the exception of Christmas Trees which are already significantly reduced. Most holiday items will be 50% off right after Christmas and 75% off in early January.
Walmart marked down holiday items by 50% on 12/26 for the past few years.
Kohls has the typical “coupon” discount on holiday items throughout December and most of the holiday-specific items will be 70% off on 12/26.
I share the strategies above not necessarily because any of these stores carry the exact same brands and lines that you offer, but to spotlight their markdown strategies. Most of my followers/readers/subscribers are independent retailers, so I want to talk about your superpowers that the stores mentioned above do not have: flexibility and quick reaction/results.
For instance, if you still have dozens of fir scented candles, ornaments, wreaths, Ugly Xmas Sweaters or boxes of holiday cards today 12/16/24, do a FLASH sale and mark them down soon. And make the discount worth the trip, to get customers in your store where you can also sell them some winter apparel at full price or gift cards for the people left on their shopping list! In other words, you have already made your profit on holiday merchandise by the middle of December, so it’s smart to mark the merchandise down now while it’s more likely you will still make a profit on it rather than waiting until after Christmas to sell at a loss.
Several of you requested information about how to leverage after-Christmas returns by converting returns into sales and loyalty-building opportunities. Here’s the link to a previous newsletter post on that topic:
Retail Returns: converting returns into sales and loyalty-building opportunities
Keep reading for some ideas for sale titles —or email subject lines!— examples of SALE displays, and progressive sales, too. In the past week, I talked to nine independent retailers about their holiday season, fourth quarter sales and after-christmas plans. Here’s what they told me: