January Clearance Shopping

 

Post-holiday is a great time to go shopping (If you have any money left!).  This is a great time to stock up on Holiday supplies for next year, boots, outerwear, basics and trend pieces for following fall.  In January you will find more stores loaded with clearance racks.  All of the access and over-bought items from fall now have to go in order to make room for new spring merchandise which will hit full force beginning in February.  So if you have manage to keep a little spare $ to the side for January, then hitting the stores may be a nice pick-me-up on these dull post-holiday weeks. 

Take a look at the winter and fall items you have been wearing for the past few months.  See which heavily used basics are starting to show wear or could use replacing.  Make yourself a list before leaving the house of the items you need and where you will typically shop for such items.  Hit those stores/malls/centers with the specifics in mind.  This will help you more efficiently scan the clearance areas for the racks and sections more relevant to your needs.  Also try checking the store websites beforehand to get a feel for how much clearance they might have in the categories you seek before you go out of your way for a particular store.  If the website shows only a few items even marked down, then the store is not likely to have much more in stock.  Then hit the retailers you are interested in and scope out locations as well to see if certain locations are less frequented by the mass of shoppers.  Those less frequented, may have received less initial inventory, but they might also still be holding a larger variety of items now at clearance prices. 

Regardless of which retailer you hit for this clearance shopping, what you will find may be a lot of odds and ends and it may require a little time and digging.  But the assortment of seasonal items you may find can be well worth the work at these prices.  For higher quality lasting basics, try hitting nearby outlet malls.  They too are usually working on cleaning house this time of year and will be substantially less crowded than they would have been a month earlier.  

Good luck and happy shopping!