Target Clearance Schedule

This is a repost of the Target Clearance Schedule I told you about way back in June.

This is a general guideline for how the stores do markdowns, it may vary in your store. The best way to see if your store is on this schedule is to:

1. Pay attention while you are shopping and see which departments are getting marked down
2. Ask an employee. I find the employees actually marking down items are more helpful than the cashiers.

MONDAY: Kids Clothing, Stationary Items, Electronics, Baby
TUESDAY: Domestics, Food, Women’s Clothing, Pets
WEDNESDAY: Men’s Clothing, Toys, HBA, Lawn and Garden
THURSDAY: Housewares, Shoes, Lingerie, Sporting Goods, Music, Movies, Books, Decor, Luggage
FRIDAY: Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, Jewelry

So what that means is that if you are looking for specific items- say men’s clothing- you will want to hit your store on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning to get all the latest markdowns.  Target typically starts at 15%, then goes to 30%, then 50% , then 75% and sometimes 90%.  For the most part 75% off is pretty much the best deal you will find.  Again, you just need to learn your specific store.  In my area I have been to the store mid morning on Monday and already the clearance baby items have been snatched up.

In addition to the regular markdown schedule there are 2 big events:

Baby Clearance: January and July typically offer massive clearance throughout the baby department. In my experience, July is amazing as there seems to be fewer shoppers. We got our Fisher Price Rainforest highchair 50% off last year and a Graco Triumph car seat 50% off.  You can try to hold out for 75% off but in my area the sales usually don’t last that long.  (And don’t forget to create a baby registry and you can get an extra 10% off of purchases when you complete your registry!)

Toy Clearance: July and October are the clearance events at Target and Walmart for toys- and of course we have already seen post- Christmas clearance. Fewer people are thinking Christmas in July than in October so you have a better shot at the best deals.