Thrifter Shopping at Target

Lately, I’ve had one eye on my shrinking budget, the other on sales pricing trends at local retailers. Thought I would share with you some of my pricing discoveries for Target that I’ve been tracking for a few months so that you can enjoy some thrifty shopping. Enjoy!

Finding the Discount Amount. The amount the product is discounted is positioned in the top right corner of the clearance tag. (example: A display of “30” indicates the item is 30% off the original retail price.)

Discounting by Supply and Demand. Discounts are based on an individual store’s inventory. Smaller discounts indicate the merchandise is moving faster; larger discounts indicate the merchandise is slow moving. (Good to know when you’re deliberating a purchase now vs sometime later/maybe never.) Also, since the discount is based on an individual store’s inventory, don’t expect to pay the same price at two different stores.

Determining Where You Are in the Markdown Cycle. The last digit of the mark down is an indicator for where the time falls in the clearance cycle. Typically, the price per item in the first markdown cycle ends in a “7” (example: $12.97). In the last round of markdowns, the price per item typically ends in a “4” (example: $2.94). BTW - I think it's rare that merchandise stays around that long!

Identifying Markdowns by Dept. Each department has a day of week when markdowns occur. Markdowns typically happen every 2 weeks.
o Children’s clothing – Monday
o Women’s clothing – Tuesday
o Men’s clothing – Wednesday
o Shoes – Thursday
o Electronics – Friday

Knowing the 5 Step Markdowns. 15%, 30%, 50%, 75% and sometimes 90% . Furniture, electronics, and food items are typically the only items discounted at 15%. Seasonal items/theme based items are usually the only items discounted down to 90%. These items go to 90%markdown pretty quickly (2+wks from first markdown - think Target needs to get rid of the inventory for the next batch of seasonal items.)