Your essential guide to shopping the sales

When can shoppers get the best deals, Boxing Day, or the January sales? PriceRunner reveals when to get the best deals and make the most savings. 

If you are planning to make the most of post-Christmas sales, this is essential reading to make sure you’re getting the most for your money.

The UK’s leading independent price and product comparison site, PriceRunner, has predicted the best buys, with an in-depth analysis on almost 4,000 products, looking back at prices on Boxing Day 2019 (26th December) and 2nd January 2020.

Comparing prices on everything from fridge freezers to toys, video games, speakers and more, results showed that the best deals differ widely on Boxing Day and in the January sales. With savings from just a few pounds to over £200 on certain items – it pays to be a savvy sales shopper.

With savings on big name brands including LEGO, Dyson and Google, Consumer Expert at PriceRunner, Christine Gouldthorp, commented:

“Sales are a brilliant time to make some real savings on top quality brands and products. Our comparison has highlighted that there are definitely times when certain items will have bigger reductions, plus that there isn’t a one size fits all approach when it comes to sales."

The analysis on the savings made in the January sales 2020, compared to Boxing Day 2019 can help to give us an idea on what to look out for this year if items continue to follow a similar pattern.

Just because categories as a whole don’t have a big average saving, there can very often be saving gems on specific items, so it can really pay off to spend some time finding these if you are planning to stock up on birthday presents and future gifts.

"The findings also highlight that certain categories, such as Nintendo Switch games, can have both the cheapest and most expensive products in each sale. This proves why it is so important to compare prices before you buy, as popular product categories will fluctuate a lot in price." said Christine Gouldthorp. 

To avoid falling into a sales trap and make sure you are actually getting the best price possible, it’s really important to compare prices and check the price history of products, which you can look at over a 12-month period on PriceRunner.

Example savings on Boxing Day vs the January Sales

Categories that were more expensive in January sales than Boxing Day sales 

• Cooktops – On average 24% more expensive
• Nintendo Switch games – On average 19% more expensive
• Speakers – On average 18% more expensive
• Xbox One games – On average 18% more expensive
• Toys – On average 18% more expensive
• PC games - On average 17% more expensive
• Digital cameras - On average 17% more expensive
• Fragrances - On average 16% more expensive
• Headphones & gaming headsets – 14% more expensive

More expensive in January sales than Boxing Day sales…

Toys –18% more expensive

• LEGO City Passenger Train – 37% more expensive
• Barbie Baby Doctor Playset – 23% more expensive
• Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Puppy – 33% more expensive
• Lego Harry Potter Hagrid's Hut: Buckbeak's Rescue – 25% more expensive

Fridge freezers – 14% more expensive

• Samsung RS68N8230B1/EU Black – 30% more expensive
• LG GSL760PZXV Stainless Steel – 25% more expensive
• Bosch KGE49VI4AG Stainless Steel – 15% more expensive

PC Games – 17% more expensive

• FIFA 2019 – 47% more expensive
• The Sims 4 – 37% more expensive
• Tropico 6 – 35% more expensive

Headphones & Gaming Headsets – 14% more expensive

• Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats3 Wireless – 43% more expensive
• 4Gamer PRO4-70 – 22% more expensive
• Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset – 17% more expensive

Cheaper in January sales than Boxing Day sales…

Game controllers - on average 22% cheaper

• Sony PS4 DualShock 4 V2 Controller - Berry Blue – 33% cheaper
• Logitech G920 Driving Force PC/Xbox One- 28% cheaper
• Sony DualShock 4 V2 – Black – 28% cheaper

Toys – on average 14% cheaper

• Playmobil Police Headquarters with Prison 6919 – 30% cheaper
• Barbie Care Clinic Vehicle – 29% cheaper
• Hasbro Frozen 2 Arendelles Castle – 25% cheaper
• Micro Sprite Scooter – 23% cheaper

Xbox One Games – 20% cheaper

• Forza Horizon 4 – 54% cheaper
• Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy – 34% cheaper
• Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – 33% cheaper
• Forza Motorsport 7 – 25% cheaper

Nintendo Switch Games – 19%

• Overwatch: Legendary Edition – 33% cheaper
• Splatoon 2 – 30% cheaper
• LEGO Jurassic World – 24% cheaper
• Super Mario Odyssey – 16% cheaper

Vacuum cleaners – 14% cheaper

• Dyson V8 Absolute – 22% cheaper
• Dyson V11 Absolute – 17% cheaper
• Bosch BBH65KITGB – 13% cheaper

Home security, surveillance cameras – 21% cheaper

• Ring Floodlight Camera- 25% cheaper
• Ring Spotlight Camera Wired – 23% cheaper

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