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How to save money in the Boxing Day and January sales

From spotting a true bargain to dodging scammers, here are our tips to making the most of the sales
couple with shopping bags

Christmas may be over for another year, but the temptation to spend isn't, as retailers launch their January sales.

Sadly, Which? research continues to find that discounts offered by retailers aren’t always what they seem. So how can you make sure you're getting a good deal and don't waste any money this year?

Read on for our tips on shopping the post-Christmas sales.

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1. Use Which? to find the best deals in the sales

Data from price comparison site PriceSpy revealed that in 2021, just 30% of products were cheaper on Boxing Day than at the start of December.

Retailers aren't always entirely upfront when it comes to the 'special' offers they’ve got, and have tactics that can trick you into thinking you're saving. For example, the ‘was’ prices you see in shops or online could refer to an item’s Recommended Retail Price (RRP) when it was first released, rather than its current price. So price reductions might appear better than they are, and even a price drop of 1p could be flagged as a discount. 

At Which?, we've got teams of experts who not only know which products are worth buying, but also whether the sales prices you see actually represents a genuine saving on what you'd pay normally. 

2. Research products before you buy them

Retailer pressure tactics, such as time-limited offers, can lead you to make impulse buys you might regret later. 

Try working out a budget and writing a list of what you’d like to buy before you head to the shops or jump online to see what’s been discounted. 

You can then read unbiased, professional reviews to make a shortlist of the exact products you want to look out for, so you can be targeted when you start shopping.

Doing this could help you avoid buying more than you really want or need, and overspending.

3. Check deals are real

Don't assume a deal is worth it just because it claims to offer a big saving. 

Which? research has shown that many cut-price products are actually similarly priced - or even cheaper - at other times of the year. 

Take our recent investigation into last year's Black Friday deals, which found 98% were cheaper or the same price at other times in the year, and none were cheaper on Black Friday alone.

Luckily, there are ways to check whether you've spotted a genuine discount. Price comparison websites such as PriceRunner.com, PriceSpy.co.uk or, for Amazon, CamelCamelCamel.com can show a product's pricing history at different retailers and reveal whether a price cut is genuinely a good deal.

You can also set up notifications on specific items’ prices on comparison sites if there’s a particular product you’re after. These can help you understand what a ‘good’ price is for an item by tracking when its price goes up or down.

4. Shop around and use price-match schemes

An item that's discounted in one store could well be on sale for an even better price elsewhere, so it's worth shopping around to find out where it's cheapest. If you're shopping in-store, you could just do a quick online check on your phone. 

You could save money if you find out if a retailer will match prices on January sale deals. Earlier this year, we found price-match schemes offered by some of our best-rated retailers that could help you save as much as £300 on big-ticket purchases. 

If a retailer doesn't have a price-matching policy, it might still agree to refund the difference if you challenge it about a price drop soon after you’ve bought something.

5. Do extra checks on retailers you've never heard of

If you come across a retailer or brand you don’t recognise, it’s worth doing some checks to help ensure you end up with a quality product and decent customer service. 

We're not saying you should avoid every brand you've never heard of, but there’s a reason why some are household names, and some only ever crop up in a sale. 

Read our guide to the best and worst shops  for our ratings of hundreds of stores broken down by product category, or try searching online for reviews.

6. Avoid falling for fake reviews

You're likely to come across fake, paid-for or misleading user reviews when shopping online.

Red flags include multiple reviews being posted around the same time, overwhelming praise and the same phrases popping up in separate reviews. You should also check if reviewers are verified purchasers, although this alone will not guarantee authenticity.

Reviews don't have to just be about products, they can be about retailers too. It's very easy for companies to buy fake reviews so they appear better and more popular than they really are. If you're using a review site, ensure you read the negative reviews rather than just the most recent feedback.

7. Watch out for unsafe products

If you're shopping on online marketplaces such as Amazon Marketplace, eBay or Wish, do so with caution. 

Which? investigations have previously found problems with illegal Christmas lights and baby carriers that failed to meet basic safety standards being sold on online marketplaces.

8. Earn cashback as you shop

If you're splashing out on a big purchase (or several), check whether you could be getting something back in the process. 

Cashback sites such as Quidco and Topcashback offer deals at thousands of retailers, and are free to sign up to. 

Just don’t let the lure of cashback lead you towards a poor-value product. Think of it as a bonus, rather than using it as your starting point for deciding what to buy and where from.

Another easy way to boost your cashback is to pay with a credit card that rewards you for your spending, with money off your credit card statement. But remember to pay off the balance in full every month to avoid interest charges. 

9. Be wary of using 'buy now, pay later' schemes

Retailers are increasingly promoting 'buy now, pay later' (BNPL) schemes at the checkout.

Even retailers that you’re unlikely to make big purchases with, might now have BNPL options to spread the cost.

While spreading out spending in instalments might not sound dangerous, we've found that shoppers often aren't always fully aware of the potential consequences. We've found that BNPL schemes can encourage overspending and potentially land people in debt. Using these schemes can even affect mortgage applications in some cases. 

If you’re looking for a bargain in the January sales, but you want to avoid paying for your purchases in instalments and potentially getting into debt, you could try keeping items you’re considering buying online in your basket for a few hours, or even a day or two, to ensure you really need (or want) them. 

10. Know your rights - check retailers’ returns rules

Bear in mind that you have more rights when you shop online than you do in-store.

Returning unwanted, non-faulty items you bought in a shop isn't an automatic right - you'll have to check the store's returns policy, which it must stick to. Check whether the policy entitles you to the actual money back or just a store credit/exchange.

Buying online gives you more rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations: you have 14 days from the date of delivery to cancel an order and a further 14 days to return it for a full refund. You should also get the original standard postal costs back.

Many shops offer extended returns periods in the run-up to Christmas and beyond. John Lewis, for instance, has given customers until 28 January 2023 to exchange or return unwanted gifts. Always check a store's returns policy before you buy something so you'll know exactly when you need to take it back if you want to.

11. Watch out for shopping scams

If prices seem too good to be true, they probably are.  

Scam websites use low prices to lure bargain-hungry shoppers to quickly sell fake, counterfeit or even non-existent items. 

You can use our tips for spotting a scam to help you identify if something is actually a good deal or simply a con in our guide on how to spot an online shopping scam.