It's Christmas! That means a month long media induced buying frenzy for the masses to engage in as sales fever pitch reaches its maximum intensity in the run up to Boxing Day. However, a word of caution as this is NOT 2008 when many retailers were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy that would claim many such as Woolworth's and Comet, and thus were panicked into real deep discounts to quickly offload stock to improve their cash-flows. Instead, now we have a strong UK economic recovery underway that is resulting in an highly engineered sales season which started off with over inflated prices calculated to generated discounts of as much as 75% so that items can still be sold for a hefty profit.

So, as you engage in the sales frenzy bare in mind that less than 15% of the goods on sale are actually being sold at real discounts to prices of several months ago or that old stock that the retailers have not been able to shift for some time that would have been destined for the clearance outlets and finally charity shops has been first dusted down for the sales shelves.

As ever the big name sales that most shoppers eagerly anticipate such as Next and John Lewis will kick off their sales online from Christmas Eve and in store from boxing day (full details below).

To further lubricate the sales season many credit card firms have been liberally stuffing household letterboxes with offers of 0% on purchases for 6-12 months that many borrowers may come to regret once their 0% periods expire with even longer borrowing terms for balance transfers with their associated one off fees.

The following is a list of in-store and online sales (unless otherwise indicated) for at least 30% off with many retailers advertising sales of upto 75% off, though bear in mind that it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between the real sales and the gimmicks sales as retailers tend to promote multiple 50% off sales during the Christmas period, from several days to several weeks ahead of their REAL sales.

SALES ALREADY IN PROGRESS or Starting Today - 22nd Dec 2013

Expect the shops to be full to bursting point today (22nd December) as the sales season of 2013 enters its third day where most high street stores have already started sales, though in many cases the REAL sales are still pending.

Asos - online sale only - Upto 50% off
Argos upto 50% off on Toys
BHS - Upto 50% off
Boden - Online only - Upto 70% off
Clarks - Upto 50% off
Dorothy Perkins - Upto 50% off
Debenhams - Limited - Upto 50% off
GAP - 60% on selected items.
IKEA - Upto 33% off
Habitat - Limited products upto 50% off
House of Fraser - Toys only - Upto 75% off
Homebase - Upto 50% off
H&M - Upto 70% off
New Look - Upto 60% off
Next Clearance Sale on selected items Upto 50% off
Sainbury's - Upto 60% off Technology
Marks and Spencer - Knitwear - 30%
Matalan - Upto 50% off
Top Shop - Upto 50% off
Wallis - Upto 50% off

Check back for the Market Oracle's latest article update.

SALES Starting 23rd Dec

Laura Ashley
Oasis
TK Maxx
Toys R Us
Very.co.uk - Upto 70% off
WH Smith

SALES Starting Christmas Eve - Tuesday 24th Dec

Argos - Extends Discounts to 75% off online from midnight.
Boots - online only
B&Q
John Lewis 50% off sale - Online only from 5pm
Halfords - Online only.
Homebase - Online only.
Harrods - Online only from 6pm
Harvey Nichols - Online
Debenhams - Online only.
House of Fraser - Online only
Marks and Spencer Online from 5pm
NEXT - Online only from 3pm
PC World / Curry's - Online only from 7pm
Toys R Us - online only.

SALES Starting Christmas Day - Wednesday 25th Dec

SALES Starting Boxing Day - Thursday 26th Dec

Asda
Banana Republic
Body Shop
Boots
Debenhams
Dorothy Perkins
French Connection
GAP
Habitat
John Lewis 50% off sale - In store from 8am
Harrods
Homebase
House of Fraser
Liberty
Matalan
Monsoon - At least 30% off
New Look
PC World / Curry's
Next - In store starts 6am.
Toys R Us

SALES Starting Friday 27th Dec

SALES Tips

Compare prices on your internet smartphone before buying.
The biggest reductions come towards the end of the sales season, i.e. Christmas stock can go from 33% off to 50% off to 70% off to 80% off over the week after Christmas.
Use a cash back credit card such as Capital One Circle to earn cash back.
Make a list of items that you really need to prevent buying of junk.
Look for discount vouchers in newspapers.
Look for discounts vouchers online, many sites and app's have sprung up over the year.
Set yourself a budget and don't go over it.
Don't get into debt, there is no point saving 25% in the sales then paying 25% and beyond interest on purchases during 2014!
And the best discounts can be found on Ebay during January as people offload unwanted gifts and purchases to pay down Christmas debt.

Source and Comments: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article43677.html

Nadeem Walayat

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Nadeem Walayat has over 25 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of four ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series.that can be downloaded for Free.

Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 600 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any trading losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors before engaging in any trading activities.

Nadeem Walayat Archive

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.