Insider’s (Unofficial) Guide to Target Clearance Shopping

It seems that every time I walk out of Target, I leave with at least four things I had no intention of buying.  I love shopping Target’s clearance section.  Here are a few tips to finding the best deals!

Items initially marked on clearance are usually placed on an endcap in the original department of the item.  These endcaps are usually on the outside perimeter of the store, so you’ll have to look around to find the endcaps. Almost always there will be a few signs marking the section. 

Target tends to mark down food, health and beauty products, and electronics starting at 15% off.  Clothing tends to start at 30% off.  Items that haven’t sold usually move to 50% off, then 70-75% off.  I’ve even seen holiday items for as much as 90% off!

For the most part, items on clearance get marked down further every two weeks. 

Each department marks down items on different days of the week.  Markdowns usually don’t happen over the weekend.  Slower stores, like mine here in Bloomington, seems to have a greater selection of items on clearance than my mom’s store in the Chicago area.  Individual stores vary in terms of what is on clearance when and for how much it is on clearance for.

Here is the typical schedule of when items get marked down:

Mon. — Electronics, Accessories, Kids Clothing, Books, and Stationary

Tues. — Domestics, Women’s Clothing, Pets and Food

Wed. — Men’s Clothing, Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden items, and Baby

Thur. — Housewares, Lingerie, Shoes, Toys, Sporting Goods, Décor, and Luggage

Fri. — Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, and Jewelry

 

Take a look at this clearance tag:

 

On the left is the original price.  On the right is the mark down price.  I’ve been told that items ending in “4” are the lowest the item will go.  Look closely at the upper right-hand corner: this number is the percent off the item currently is.  Super handy!

Here is an example:

 

I recently bought a 4.2 ounce Matrix Amplify Volumizer.  The original price was $16.99.  It was on clearance for $4.24, a savings of 75%! I found this item on an endcap with several other products on clearance (soap, deodorant, facial tissue).  The posted sign said “30% or more” and this product was 75% off.  Look carefully for good deals!  These products were back in the paper products section (near the trash bags and toilet paper), and not in the health and beauty section.  When items are marked down so low, they tend to be placed together in one area even if the products aren’t from the same department.

Keep in mind you can use manufacturer’s and Target store coupons for items on clearance for even bigger savings! 

 

For instance, I bought this soap refill on clearance for $2.78 (30% off) and had a coupon for another $0.50 off.  That brought my savings to 43%!

Finally, I’ve gotten word that July and October are the big clearance events on toys, in addition to the after-holiday clearance sale in January.  July and January are the big clearance events on baby items.

How about you? What is the best deal you’ve gotten at Target?