Understanding Sales Cycles

All stores are on a 1 or 2 week sale cycle, which means every 1-2 weeks they change the items that are on sale or update their promotions. This is typically how the sales cycles work in Colorado…

Grocery Stores such as Safeway, CityMarket, and Albertsons put out new ads every Wednesday and that sale/promotion will run from Wednesday-Tuesday. On occasion Safeway runs specials that are valid only Friday, Saturday & Sunday, but those will still be advertised in the ad on Wednesday.  Also, CityMarket generally runs their sales for 2 weeks with only a few changes week to week. The grocery store ads that come in the Sunday Newspaper are only a regurgitation of the Wednesday ad. It is always best to go grocery shopping on Wednesday right after the ad comes out to ensure the shelves are still stocked with the best deals.

Drug Stores & Retail Stores such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target, and Walmart run their sales from Sunday-Saturday. They only produce 1 ad per week which comes out in the Sunday Newspaper. To ensure the shelves are stocked with the best deals it is best to go shopping at these stores on Sundays. Occasionally they might run a sale for select days but it will always be announced in their Sunday ad.

Specialty & Online Stores such as C28.com, Pacsun.com, Payless ShoeSource©, and other mom & pop shops do not run on a certain schedule. When I worked as a buyer in the retail industry I noticed that many of these types of shops run their sales on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday because those are the days when their sites receive the most traffic. If you like a particular store it is always best to sign-up for their email list to ensure you never miss a sale.

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