As I mentioned this weekend, Target’s legal department has ended the early preview of the ads. This is very disappointing as it gave me extra time to do the matchups (and to post them early) plus I always look forward to the Wednesday previews. But alas- we shall survive.
It occurred to me that many readers may not be aware of the weekly Target clearance schedule, so I wanted to post that this week. (Thanks for the reminder Kelly!) This is a general guideline for how the stores do markdowns, it may vary in your store. Both of the stores I go to follow this schedule- with baby items on Monday as well. 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
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
In addition to the regular markdown schedule there are 3 big events coming soon:
Baby Clearance: January and July typically offer massive clearance throughout the baby department. In my experience, July is amazing as there seem to be fewer shoppers. We got our Fisher Price Rainforest highchair 50% off last year and a Graco Triumph car seat 50% off. This year I also have 10% off to use for completing my baby registry. Each store will have its own schedule- I will update you as I see markdowns coming in my stores.
Toy Clearance: July and October are the clearance events at Target and Walmart for toys- this year I have already spotted 30% off at my Target. This is the time to get ready for Christmas! Last year I decided to wait for the October sale and missed out on everything. Fewer people are thinking Christmas in July than in October so you have a better shot at the best deals.
Outdoor Furnishings: I am already finding outdoor items on sale 30% off. Last year we waited until the 75% off day- a Wednesday- and I actually hit 4 stores in my area. We scored a Smith and Hawkin dining table, 4 arm chairs w/ cushions, 2 Adirondack chairs, a medium sized side table, a loveseat w/ cushions and an outdoor rug for less than $300 total. I asked the employees in the garden department when stuff would hit 75% off and got to the stores early.
Please leave a comment below if you have any tips for scoring the best clearance deals at Target!
Great post! I just put a link to this post on my blog. Hope you don't mind. My Target had a big toy clearance sale this last January too. It seemed like some of my friends from across the country reported the same thing. Maybe it was just random? Anyways, thanks for the tips!
Love this post! I love target but always seem to miss the good clearance, thanks for this! I would never find good deals if it weren't for you!
Stalking My Prey In The Clearance Section!: http://tinyurl.com/m454q9
This is great! I'm going to link this on my blog – thank you so much!!
thank you sooo much!!
Do you happen to know when the baby items will be on clearance? I have a shower coming up and would love to get my little sister lots!
Hi Becky, I can't tell you exactly when as it will vary a bit store to store- usually the month of July. I am going to start a regular Target clearance alert feature on Wednesday though. Be sure to keep checking in as we have a new baby and I am all over that department 🙂