Ever wanted to know when the best times of the year to shop are? From computers to chocolate, we reveal when you’re likely to get the best bargains.
Sometimes bargains come out of nowhere, and you just have to act quickly.
But there are many products that - year in, year out - get price cuts during certain months, regular as clockwork.
Here’s a month-by-month guide of when you can expect to bag the biggest bargains for different products:
January
Chocolate (Christmas clearance)- Diet foods/programs
- Frozen party foods/finger foods
- Theatre tickets
- Holidays
- Winter clothes
- Furniture (January sales)
- Bedding and linen
- Electronics (especially 2nd hand after Christmas)
February
Mobile phones (stores cut prices now as newer models tend to get released in the run up to spring)- Chocolate (after Valentine’s Day)
- Seafood (after Valentine’s Day)
- Steak (after Valentine’s Day)
- Furniture (new furniture designs tend to get released for the spring)
March
- TVs (new TV models are always introduced at tech shows in January, but it’s not until April they start to make their way into stores. So March is a prime time for many shops to clear their stock)
- Cameras (same situation as with TVs)
April
Ski equipment (end of season sales)- DIY (people do more DIY as the weather gets warmer and shops take advantage of that)
- Raincoats and waterproofs (although April is a rainy month, shops know sunnier weather is on the way and so are keen to shift their stock)
- Charity shop goods (people tend to have spring cleans and donate lots of stuff to charity shops)
May
- Holidays
- Refrigerators
June
- DIY/Tools (especially around Father’s Day)
- Homeware (stores gear up for wedding season)
July
- Homeware (stores gear up for wedding season)
- Laptops (stock is cleared as lots of new laptops get launched in time for students starting university in September)
August
- Summer clothes (shops clear stock to make room for autumn clothing)
- Swimwear
September
Laptops and computers (if you can get good a ‘Back to School’ deal)- iPhones (Apple normally releases new models, meaning discounts on older versions)
- Bikes
October
- Sweets (after Halloween)
- Bikes
November
TVs- General electronics (especially on November 28 - ‘Black Friday’)
- Books (book stores start their big promotions in the run-up to Christmas)
- Power tools (shops tend to run Christmas promotions)
- Bikes
December
- Power tools (shops tend to run Christmas promotions)
- Champagne (Christmas and New Year promotions)
- Bikes
