What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas? Find Out When The Best Sales Happen
By Bethany McCamish 
Update: By Emily Grove December 2, 2021
With the Black Friday holiday shopping season now over, many people may ask themselves what are the best days to shop after Christmas?
“Across channels, retailers should expect a strong holiday season as consumer spending levels are projected to remain high,” said Rod Sides, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and U.S. retail and distribution sector leader. “Deals will start and end earlier.”
Therefore, many retailers may hold off starting their Christmas sales a bit so you’ll want to watch for them to ramp up on Christmas Day or December 26th (aka Boxing Day) and they’ll likely extend out past the new year.
We’re here to help you make your decision about which post-Christmas sales to jump on so you can spend more time watching the Hallmark channel in your pajamas.
Finding Coupons And Extra Discounts
What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas
How To Save Even More Money On The Day After Christmas Sales
Before you head out to start your shopping, you should do your research first. Map out your shopping destinations and the deals they offer. Then, try to stretch your dollars further by finding coupons and using the best money-saving apps to get cashback on your purchases.
Best Apps To Save Even More On Your After Christmas Sales
These apps can help you save money or earn some cashback and gift cards to your favorite stores. If you’re shopping for post-Christmas deals anyway, why not use these to maximize your savings?
Fetch Rewards
This app helps you earn cash rewards for the shopping you do at any grocery store by turning your receipts into gift cards. Just download the app, shop, and take a photo of your receipt.
Fetch Rewards will scan it for any of the thousands of qualifying products that can score you points. As soon as you’ve earned 3,000 points ($3), which you can do pretty quickly, you can start redeeming them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Sephora, Best Buy, and Nordstrom.
InboxDollars
InboxDollars offers cashback for online shopping and redeeming coupons offered through the app. Once you’ve earned enough points, you can redeem your points for cash via PayPal, Visa cash cards, and gift cards to Amazon, Adidas, Macy’s, Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and more.
Looking for ways to save money on your post-Christmas shopping? This should be one of your first downloads.
Bonus: You can also get free samples that make great stocking stuffers. And you’ll also get $5 just for signing up.
Drop
Drop earns you cash and gift cards for shopping at your favorite stores. Download the app, pick five stores from its list of partner retailers, link a card, and shop.
Every time you make a purchase at your chosen stores in-person or online through the app, you’ll earn Drop points that can be redeemed for gift cards to your top five and any of the other stores available through the app. You can earn gift cards to places like Starbuck Netflix, Amazon, and more.
Major Stores To Search For After Christmas Sales
Here is a list of the major stores that offer sales to get you started on your hunt for the best deals:
- Target
- Kohl’s
- Walmart
- JCPenney
- Pro Bass
- The Home Depot
- K-Mart
- Old Navy
- Lowe’s
- Macy’s
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Sears
- Best Buy
- Pier 1 Imports
- Saks
- Dillards
- Neiman Marcus
- Big Lots
There are many small businesses and online retailers that are not on this list that also offer deals.
The NRF reports that 73% of shoppers will research on their phone or tablet before making a purchase. We recommend you do the same with the item you want to buy so you can find a good deal (we recommend the Capital One shopping comparison tool for this. Check out our Capital One Shopping review for more info.
Finding Coupons And Extra Discounts
Part of your online research should include finding extra coupons. Websites like Retailmenot.com and Groupon are known for having coupons at most retailers. You could get even more of a discount on your sale items.
Don’t forget to look at the fine print before you try to use them though. Some coupons can be stacked with merchandise that is already on sale and some can’t.
If you want to ensure you get a discount, print out or take a screenshot of the after-Christmas sales ad online. Mistakes are easy to make during the after-holiday sales shopping rush, and it can be helpful to have the ad in hand to make sure you’re saving that money.
An extra tip: If you want to get crafty, shop all the after-Christmas sales ads before the 26th and 27th. If you have a credit card that offers price matching for a while after purchase, you can skip all the lines.
Buy your item early and then file for price matching during the after-Christmas sales. Typically you need to provide the original receipt and the new discounted sale price or ad.
What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas?
Do you really need to get up early and snatch up all the deals? Good question. The answer depends on what you’re looking for.
Tiara Rea-Palmer, head of retail relations for Couponfollow.com told us: “The single best day to shop after Christmas is December 26, hands down. There will be huge sales on Christmas trees, decor, holiday gifts, and lights, but you can also score some post-Christmas discounts on items not related to the holidays.”
You’ll likely get the most selection on this day and the pickings will get slimmer the longer you wait (but the deals may get even better.)
The blur of holiday sales on this day makes it look like everything is on sale. In some cases, this might be true, but you’re only out to get the best deal- this means the steepest discount. Below are the items on sale on the 26th worth getting out of your pajamas for:
Holiday Décor
Immediately after Christmas, big box stores will mark down their holiday décor. The 26th is the best time to get that giant life-size Santa Claus for your yard.
Seriously though, everything holiday decor-related will be marked down.
Need an artificial Christmas tree? How about Christmas decor like holiday lights or a giant pinecone garland? How about wrapping paper?
Get it on the 26th to get a great deal and have your house looking like a Better Homes Christmas issue next year.
Winter Wear
Speaking of all things holiday, you can expect to find major markdowns on winter outerwear and evening attire. Grab your new ugly sweater for next year or a sparkly cocktail dress.
Google the store of your choice and after-Christmas sales to see what other discounts are out there for winter wear.
Toys
According to U.S. News and World Report, December is the best time to shop for toys. Retailers will offer discounts before the holidays, but these will drop even more the day after Christmas which can be a great way to get started early on other gift ideas for the rest of the year. Plan ahead for birthdays.
Rea-Palmer suggests that any popular toys that didn’t sell out like Lego, Barbie, Star Wars, and Disney are going to be part of the December 26th sales. Retailers don’t want to get stuck with the inventory into the next year.
Items like toys can go fast because of the price point and how many kids are wanting to spend their gift cards. Look up the store hours online to make sure you get there when they open their doors to take advantage of these deep discounts but still have some selection to choose from.
Don’t Forget About The Savings On December 27th
Believe it or not, you can find some killer deals on the 27th of December, too.
Electronics
December 27th is said to have even better deals than Black Friday did. This includes all things video games, which are the hot item for kids and teens this year.
You can also expect to find discounts on smart speakers, game consoles, tablets, and smart home goods. The retailers don’t want to hold on to outdated technology into 2022. If you don’t care about having last year’s model, then this works out well for you.
After the 26th and 27th, most sales continue until January 1st.
“One day you’ll want to avoid is December 31, as a lot of stores will close early or may not be open at all,” Rea-Palmer shared.
Keep in mind the post-holiday sales start after the 26th and 27th and the inventory might not be available. With crowds all trying to get the same deals, it’s a good idea to get out on the 26th and 27th to score the best of what is on sale.
What Is The Best Shopping Day After Christmas? The One You Don’t Need To Leave Home For
What is the best shopping day after Christmas if you don’t want to think about braving crowds of shoppers? The deals you find online.
The National Retail Federation predicted that 2021 retail sales will total between $4.44-$4.56 trillion and online sales, which are included in the total figure, are expected to grow between 18% and 23% to a range of $1.09 – $1.13 trillion as consumers continue to shop online.
This compares with $4.02 trillion in total retail sales in 2020 with $920 billion from online shopping.
Online stores aren’t the only ones with sales. All the major retailers will have online sales too, but you may need to hunt for a coupon code (we recommend >Capital One Shopping for your desktop to help you search for extra discounts).
Tips For Shopping Online After Christmas Sales:
Don’t get sucked into the vortex of one-click shopping when looking for deals online. Instead, remember these tips:
- Use apps like Fetch Rewards[/offer_link] to get a cash kickback from your purchases (yes you can use both at the same time)
- If it’s a common item, always compare prices with Capital One Shopping across multiple sites and look for coupons before you buy
- Purchase your items on a credit card so you can take advantage of points (find out if it is worth having a credit card to earn points)
- Make a budget with Hiatus (read our review here) and stick to it. Pay attention to your totals after your click “buy”
Day After Christmas Sale Items You Should Skip
You can indeed find some killer deals in the days following Christmas, but there are a few things you should wait on. January brings in a whole new string of sales called White Sales. White sales cover household items, primarily linens like:
- Bedspreads
- Duvets
- Towels
- Rugs
- Sheets
- General home decor
You can typically get a better deal in January than you would at an after-Christmas sale.
In addition to the white sales, January brings a whole wave of healthy living sales. Cookware, gym memberships, workout clothing, and home gym equipment will all go on sale. This aligns with the popular News Year’s resolution of losing weight and getting in shape. If you’ve been wanting a treadmill or new running shoes it’s worth it to wait until after the Christmas sales.
Don’t Get Blinded By The After Christmas Sale
Here’s the thing, we are still The Money Manual, and we love a good deal as much as the next person. But, we also like it when you take care of your financial health.
The sale season can still be one of the most expensive times of year for many folks, and just because something is on sale, doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy it. Just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you can afford it.
“Consumers plan to spend $997.73 on gifts, holiday items and other non-gift purchases for themselves and their families this year,” according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. If you’re about to drop almost a grand on goods, you need to be prepared for that.
You could say to yourself that you’re only going to return or exchange something, but 77% of people are likely to make a purchase when they make a return according to NRF.
If you have already maxed out your spending budget for gifts, it’s best to avoid the sales altogether.
Get your credit cards paid off and start 2022 by making smart financial decisions. Then you can figure out your Christmas gifting and the after-Christmas sales for next year. You’ll also want to check out the best 2021 holiday Shopping Days to see our calendar layout.
Best Apps Summary
Don’t forget to stretch your dollars and maximize your savings using these handy shopping apps.
