We chose the sales below because we think you’ll find them interesting — they typically include multiple deals and, of course, not every product in a sale is going to be the best deal around.
This February will be a great time to snag deals on jewelry, especially after Valentine’s Day. Kristin McGrath, a senior retail expert at RetailMeNot, told shoppers to wait on jewelry until after the holiday last month, and Evans echoed this sentiment. Evans also encouraged shoppers to wait until Feb. 15 to buy other items commonly associated with the holiday, like chocolates and flowers.
Evans also advised shoppers looking to invest in new mattresses to do so during Presidents Day events. While shoppers may have taken advantage of white sales on linens in January, the late February holiday is a better time for deals on mattresses. McGrath echoed this sentiment when she told shoppers to skip over mattress deals in January and wait until this month for mattresses and other furniture deals.
In November, McGrath also advised Select readers to wait until February to invest in a new TV, not only because of more sporting events happening, but also because the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place annually in January. Following CES, retailers may be discounting older TV models in order to offload stock to make room for newly released and announced ones. Nikki Baird, vice president of retail innovation at Aptos, a retail technology company, encouraged shoppers to look out for deals on couches, tables and TVs — any big-ticket items that “consumers want in order to get ready for entertaining.”
In general, Evans advised Select readers to look for sales that come as a result of “delays in shipments from holidays still arriving at stores,” which means “there could very well be a surplus across a lot of categories, leading retailers to have to provide discounts.”
Evans said that at the tail end of February and likely the beginning of March, consumers will likely see deep discounts on apparel and accessories.
“As it relates to Covid, we’re likely to see discounts related to apparel and accessories in the coming weeks, whether that’s in February or March,” she said. “I’m thinking between shipment delays and approaching a new season, there’s likely going to be stockpiles that retailers will need to unload.”
If consumers see those discounts during February, Evans said to go for it, but if they are absent, she advised shoppers to hold off on purchases until the beginning of March.
While February is normally a good time to take advantage of winter clearance sales, consumers may not find many of those deals this year, according to Baird. She said many retailers have already sold through their winter inventory and are starting to bring out spring and summer items, like grills, shorts and swim accessories. Because of this, consumers will likely not see many worthwhile deals.
“Don’t be tempted by these early glimpses of spring and summer assortments – just because they moved them into stores early doesn’t mean retailers feel any pressure to discount anything at this point,” she said.
Evans also cautioned that inflationary prices could impact food and drink categories. She said that private label brands — brands that are made and sold exclusively through one retailer — may offer better value to consumers in light of these inflationary prices. Evans advised consumers to consider private labels across a wide variety of categories.
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