5 Best Things to Buy During After-Christmas Sales

Budget-savvy shoppers who plan out their gift purchases well in advance of the holidays know there are certain items that are best to buy after peak holiday shopping season. On the list: winter clothing, holiday-themed decorations and gift cards.

Prices on these items hit rock-bottom in the weeks immediately following Christmas, because retailers are looking to clear out their remaining seasonal inventory to make room for spring items that will soon hit shelves. “Shoppers can find significant price drops as soon as Christmas Eve,” says Rebecca Lehmann, content marketing manager for deals website BradsDeals.com.

So what other items can consumers purchase for a steal after December 25? We talked with several shopping experts to find out which products are worth waiting to buy. Here’s what they had to say.

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Bedding

Anyone with a queen or king size bed knows that bedding materials, such as sheets, comforters and pillow cases, can get really expensive. If you need to stock up on these items, do yourself (and your wallet) a favor by waiting until January to buy them, says Courtney Jespersen, a shopping and retail expert for finance site NerdWallet.com. She points out that most major department stores have “white sales” at the start of the New Year. “Based on last year’s deals, shoppers should see discounts ranging from 60% to 70% off,” Jespersen says. For example, Wayfair.com, Kohl’s and Macy’s offered 60% off on select bedding items in January 2016.

Electronics

Most holiday shoppers look to Black Friday sales to find doorbuster deals on electronic items such as televisions, laptops and tablets. However, if you can hold off until after Christmas, you can score even deeper discounts (up to 50% off) on the latest 4K HDTVs, video game consoles and the like, says Jeanette Pavini, a savings experts for Coupons.com.

A big reason for this is the annual Consumer Electronics Show, which takes place in January and showcases the latest tech releases, she says. As a result, retailers will mark down the previous year's models to make room for newer versions. Another cause for the price drops: Much of what you'll find in-store after Christmas are items that were given as gifts, have been returned and are then re-sold as "open box" items, Pavini says.

Exercise Equipment

Those with improved fitness goals on their New Year's resolution list will be happy to know that exercise equipment will be significantly discounted starting in January. Shoppers can find items such as stationary bikes, punching bags, weights and weight stations for up to 50% off, says Benjamin Glaser, features editor for DealNews.com. Some of the biggest after-Christmas deals on exercise equipment and fitness apparel will be at NordicTrack.com, Walmart and Amazon, he predicts.

Holiday Gift Baskets

Holiday-themed gift baskets -- from bath and beauty products to candle sets -- will be priced to sell fast once peak holiday shopping season is over. These items have a short shelf life, because the scents and packaging tend to be seasonal ("winter" scents such as pumpkin spice and eggnog, and prints including snowflakes and Christmas trees), says Kerry Sherin, a savings expert for Offers.com.

You can typically find a wide range of holiday-themed gift baskets at major department stores or discount retailers such as T.J. Maxx or Marshalls. "If you have relatives that you still need to get gifts for, but won't see them until New Year's Eve or Day, this is the perfect item to stock up on," she says.

Winter Accessories

Shoppers will see prices slashed on cold-weather accessories including knit hats, gloves and scarves after the holidays, says Kristin Cook, managing editor of deals site BensBargains.com. Again, the logic here is that retailers will be discounting these items to make space for warm-weather gear that will start to sell in late February. The upside to waiting to buy cold-weather accessories toward the end of the season is that you can get a significant percentage off on luxury goods, such as cashmere scarves, leather gloves and merino wool hats.