Nothing annoys me more than buying a piece of clothing at full price, only to see it marked down a week later. It’s happened to me more times than I would care to admit, and every time I feel as if I’ve fallen victim to a retail shopping curse. If you aren’t tracking retail sales well enough, it’s easy to miss out on some amazing deals.
Luckily for shoppers, prices do not drop at random. Brands have a specific calendar for when items go on sale each season. The trick is just learning the calendar and devising a solid game plan.
Buy at the end of a season
The worst time to shop for items is during the season you need them, when demand is high and you’re left paying full price for every essential item. Though shopping in season comes with the benefits of a large range of options, you may miss out on top-tier deals by rushing to checkout. Instead, wait until the end of a season to buy those essentials, as that is when retailers are looking to clear out for new stock.
Winter clothes often go on sale after peak demand has passed, around January to early March. November and December are busy months for winter apparel because of the holidays, so prices are either full price or discounted for Black Friday and Cyber Monday — when shopping is only worth it if you’re ready to act fast and embrace stress. Spring clothes follow a similar pattern, with prices dropping in May and June.
Summer, however, is pretty much the only season where you see clothes that are not too far off from the season actually on sale. Many stores offer deep discounts once the initial summer craze has passed, usually beginning after the Fourth of July and intensifying throughout August and September as retailers are looking to fill up with fall stock.
Memorial Day weekend is coming up, which marks one of the first major summer sales of the year, despite falling during spring. Last year, according to CNN, popular brands such as J.Crew offered 50% off items sitewide while Macy’s gave discounts for up to 60% off. If you want summer clothes particularly fast and early, this is a great time to get them at prices that won’t empty your wallet for once. Otherwise, waiting until late July or August is the best option for saving the most money while still ensuring your summer apparel.
Subscribe to newsletters, seriously
I can hear you groaning already, but this tip is actually effective. While it can be a pain to subscribe to dozens of brands that flood your inbox, these newsletters are the easiest way to be one of the first to hear about retail sales and special discount codes. Sometimes, brands will reveal exclusive discount codes via email that you cannot find anywhere else.
Many popular companies, like Princess Polly and Pacsun, have loyalty programs that have member-only rewards, and others like Sephora and Ulta Beauty offer their members birthday discounts. Those who are overburdened by the email influx can opt to create a separate email account to use for these newsletters, ensuring that your more urgent conversations don’t get buried. Over time, those extra deals will pile up, and you’ll be glad that you signed up for newsletters.
Always ask if there’s a student discount
As a college student, your NYU email can be the key to several deals hidden behind closed doors, as brands tend not to advertise student deals that could benefit shoppers. For those looking to maximize these four years, platforms like UNiDAYS and Student Beans offer student discounts for hundreds of brands — not just fashion retailers — once you verify your student email online. Organized by category, using these exclusive programs opens the gateway to discounts on more than just clothing, such as technology, food, entertainment and travel — potentially saving you hundreds overall.
Even simply mentioning that you’re a student at checkout can lead to surprisingly pleasant results, as so many platforms utilize student discounts that it can be hard to keep track of all of them yourself. And at flea markets and smaller independent stores, letting sellers know that you are a student can up your haggling game and lead to a significant markdown.
Contact Christobelle Rudes at [email protected].