Why These After Christmas Sale Items Can't be Ignored

If you’re one of the millions who hit the stores hard, sat in front of your computer online to shop and spent in the neighborhood of four figures when it was all said and done, you’re most likely burned out on the hustle and bustle that is shopping over the holidays.

Then again, does that really mean you should be truly done?

Sure, the holiday shopping most undoubtedly left you exhausted mentally and physically, along with much lighter in the wallet (we’ll get to that in a second), but often times some of the more aggressive holiday sales come after the holidays as the year comes to a close.

Keep in mind that retailers of all shapes and sizes aren’t done trying to sell, finish the year strong on their end and are quick to continue the discount parade much longer than December 25.

And speaking of the holidays, consumers racked up some pretty expensive bills that started with the holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day and continued through Green Monday, Super Saturday and all points in between until Christmas Day, December 25.

And the holiday shopping high points are really the epitome of what was a strong year, retail wise, overall.

Sales were up in 2018 in totality versus 2017 to the tune of 4.8 percent, with retail growing each year consistently since 2009; November’s retail sales were up five percent over 2017, which meets the expectations of the market versus what was totaled last year during the same time.^[1]

The holiday shopping, specifically, saw records broken across the board with Cyber Monday becoming the largest shopping day in the history of the United States, with nearly 8 billion dollars in sales up nearly 20 percent from last year, and included that was a record-high 2.8 billion dollars done in sales on Cyber Monday via the smart phone or mobile devices in general, with smart phones making 2.2 billion of that, and mobile devices accounting for 54.3 percent o retail site visits, versus only 34 percent for desktop computers and a mere 6.4 percent for tablets.^[2]

The shift in the retail phenomenon from in-store shopping to buying online isn’t anything new.

Those numbers have risen in recent years to much fanfare, predicated on convenience and ensuring that big-box stores might have their hands full if they’re not fully embracing their online platform as equal (or more) parts of their success.

This also leads to better pricing for the consumer, since Amazon rules the online marketplace and other companies like Walmart and Best Buy have to ensure their online game is on point, so that their box stores don’t become showrooms for what Amazon has cheaper and just as fast, shipping wise.

In addition to Cyber Monday, Black Friday did well, too, but a lot of that success not surprisingly came via the online sector. Black Friday had a record day in its own right, with more than 6 billion in online sales, and that's nearly a 24 percent jump versus the results put forth, online, in 2017. ^[3]

The overall totals for the holidays were up 5.1 percent to more than 850 billion dollars, and that would make 2018 the best shopping season the United States has seen since 2012, with the biggest growth online with just over 19 percent of a jump from one year ago.^[4]

And that same report coincides with the aforementioned as far as how paramount online sales are to the stores, with Amazon taking in 81 percent of all internet sales from December 1 through the 19th this year, suggesting strongly that the likes of Target, Kohl’s and Walmart have a lot of catching up to do.

The success of the holiday season, retail year to date in general might have you ready to pump the breaks on how much you’ll be spending any time soon, but don’t turn your collectives noses, consumers, up at what is on the table for post-holiday shopping, and what sales and retailer, industries and companies, are doing to get your attention, even if all your shopping is presumably done.

Clothing: Revamping your wardrobe makes financial sense after Christmas

Between Express, Bloomingdales, Dillard’s and other fine retailers, you’ll be hard-pressed not to notice just how discounted clothing is after Christmas.

Of course, clothing, apparel and accessories saw tremendous markdowns during holiday shopping as well, but this hits a fever pitch after Christmas, too.

A lot of that, quite frankly, can be attributed to those in the market for a New Year’s Eve outfit, and clothing retailers knowing that full well.

Consider that Dillard’s is offering 50 percent off designer purses through December 30, along with 40 percent off boots, along with Express having 60 percent off women’s dresses through January 5, in addition to a new pair of pants potentially for you guys.^[5]

Other retailers as part of that report who jumped on the clothing bandwagon include Old Navy and Macy’s, which offers 75 percent off clearance items for the former and 15 percent off items for the latter, including $10 off a $25 purchase, and Target giving shoppers up to 50 percent off all clothing.

Other clothing retailers such as L.L. Bean and Nordstrom are offering discounts too, with Nordstrom having sales on clothing for as much as 60 percent off.^[6]

Electronics: Deals on gadgets and toys running rampant after the holidays

The heavy hitters of the holiday retail market aren’t backing down from a technology standpoint as Christmas has come and gone.

Amazon is still offering the Echo Dot 2nd Generation for $24.99, along wit the the Fire HD 10 Tablet for $119 ($30 off, and the Fire HD 8 tablet for $49.99 ($30 off as well), and look for Walmart to continue discounting TVs with the Samsung twins (also known as the 55 and 50 inch 4K Smart TVs) for $477 and $348, respectively.^[7]

The pricing put forth after the holidays as far as the aforementioned retailers go would rival that of the Black Friday pricing, so that’s another example of fulfilling your wish list of something that you didn’t get over the holidays gift wise that you actually needed.

One of the more popular gifts, tech wise, this holiday was the Home Door Ring WiFi Wireless Visual Camera, and Walmart has it for only $57.99, which is quoted as 78 percent off the retail price after Christmas as a can’t-miss buy.^[8]

Best Buy and Amazon are largely considered two of the more potent and important electronics retailers, and the “blue” store is all about deals on headphones, Apple watches and Samsung phones, along with 40 percent off all open-box items.^[9]

Wrapping your head around shopping after the holidays isn't the easiest of tasks.

But if you’re of the mindset that saving money is a year-round proposition, then you’re in luck with these post-holiday sales.

This isn’t to suggest that you should be spending money just for the sake of doing so.

If you’re not in the market for a new car or have enough wrapping paper and Christmas decorations to fill a second apartment, then you’re certainly not obligated to buy anything over and above what you need.

Far too often sales are predicated for most on buying because something is on sales, rather than still focusing on needs or finding the most opportune time to buy because you're trying to time it in conjunction with the best sales price.

If you’re not believing the impact after-Christmas sales have, consider the pending jump of buyers on December 26 through the 31st this year versus 2013, five years prior.

In 2013, five years ago, only about 5 percent, a meager number, said they’d be shopping after Christmas; that number in 2018 is a whopping 40 percent.^[10]

Take into consideration, too, that one report says 68 percent of shoppers are going to shop after Christmas, with 27 percent using their gift cards they got from the holidays, and 3 in 4 of all shoppers (77 percent) stating that when they make a return, they plan on spending more money in the process.^[11]

Those returns are lucrative for retailers, and you may ask yourself why. That’s because a return brings you into an actual store, so if you exchange for something else or need to look for a replacement item, chances are you’ll get that and more.

This all suggests the after-Christmas sales market has grown considerably, and consumers know that retailers are ready to make a deal up to the 11th hour of 2018.

So, don’t make it a point to dismiss holiday sales shopping if it makes sense financially because retailers are going to make it easy to save money if you’re looking in the right places.