Post-Christmas Deals Abound After Disappointing Retail Season
The sales figures are starting to roll in for the Christmas season, and the early results don't look good: According to one estimate, sales grew by just 0.7% over last year, well below the 3%-4% many had predicted. That meant a lot of last-minute discounting by retailers desperate to snag procrastinators' dollars. And now that Christmas is over those discounts continue in the form of post-Christmas sales.
As we've previously noted, the day after Christmas is probably not a great day to be hitting the mall, as it ranks as one of the top five busiest days of the season. But there are some good sales to be found today and over the next couple of days, and in many cases they're online sales that don't require you to brave the mall. Here are a few to check out.
While you were unwrapping your presents, Best Buy (BBY) already had an announcement up about its "3-Day Sale" running through Dec. 27. Included in the sale is a 15-percent-off deal on all iTunes gift cards, down slightly from the 20 percent discount it was offering before Christmas (the fine print on that deal helpfully notes that the offer will extend beyond the 3-day period). There are also a few deals to be found on electronics and DVDs.
J.C. Penney (JCP) continues to break its no-sale rule for the holidays, this time offering an end-of-year clearance sale on "thousands of items" site-wide. The sale is advertised as offering discounts of 30 percent to 50 percent, and we're seeing women's coats marked down from $75 to $40. Some of the deals are online exclusives, and obviously in-store availability will vary by location. The retailer also continues to offer 25 percent off Jockey items through Dec. 30.
Fry's Electronics is having a one-day sale for Wednesday only, discounting a range of Windows 8 PCs. The retailer also advertises a 32 GB iPod Touch for $264 -- $35 below the usual price -- and a bunch of deals on TVs and monitors.
If you spend more than $100 at Kohl's (KSS), you can get 20 percent off your whole purchase by using the coupon code CELEBRATE; if you can't get to that cutoff, you can still get 15 percent off by using the code CHEERS. Both codes end on Jan. 1. And those are in addition to an "After-Christmas Blitz and Clearance" that takes as much as 70 percent off select items. Finally, there are "early bird specials" on boots, comforters and outerwear; to get those, you'll need to hit the store by 1 p.m. local time on Wednesday, or visit the website by 3 p.m. CST.
Macy's (M) is dubbing its after-Christmas sales a "Week of Wonderful," with online discounts on lingerie, denim and bedding. When you use the code JOY you'll get 15 percent off purchases of $99 or more, though select departments only shave 10 percent (see the site for full details). If you're shopping in stores you can use this printable coupon to get $10 off purchases of $25 or more; the coupon applies only to sale/clearance items and select home items, and as usual with Macy's, there are a bunch of exclusions listed in the fine print. The coupon is good until 1 p.m. Wednesday and again on Thursday before 1 p.m.
Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.
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