Let’s be honest — you’re probably going to drop $50 on your next Target run, whether you like it or not. So you might as well learn how to save a few dollars while you’re at it.
1. Understand clearance labels.
Whenever I tell people I work at Target, they always ask me about some kind of secret math involved with clearance labels. There’s a Tumblr post floating around that says something along the lines of, “if the price ends in an 8, the product will get marked down again, and if the price ends in a 4, the product can’t be marked down any more.”
Official Target Employee™ verdict: not really.
This coffee mug here was marked down to $3.48. If you look at the top right corner you can see a “30” in very, very tiny print. This means it was marked down 30%. Target items can be marked down up to 70%, sometimes even 90% off if it’s an old seasonal item (think: Christmas stuff that’s still on the shelf by New Year’s Eve). So technically, yes, this mug can be marked down again; but that doesn’t mean it will. Someone could buy that mug right now. Therefore, if you left the mug on the shelf hoping that it would be marked down more, they’re out of luck.
Bottom line: If you see a good deal, don’t wait. Buy it.
2. Get familiar with retail seasons.
Retail seasons are very different than calendar seasons. Christmas, according to our calendars, starts in December. In retail, Christmas starts in October. So does everything else winter — sweaters, fleece-lined tights, PJ sets, all that stuff. Once December’s over, spring is knocking on retail’s door and the puffy jackets start to get marked down. Bathing suits make their comeback around the last week of December, along with sundresses and everything floral.
Bottom line: Buy your stuff at the end of the season. So, buy winter stuff around mid-January and buy summer stuff around mid-September.
3. Shop as late as possible.
Shop late in the holiday season. Example: Valentine’s Day is coming up. Don’t shop for it now. Shop for it the week of Valentine’s Day, or in the case of this year, the week right before. Target and most other retail stores tend to run a lot of deals on seasonal/holiday items the week that the holiday happens because… I don’t know. What else would you run deals on during the week of Valentine’s Day? Probably not canned beans.
Bottom line: Don’t shop too far ahead of a holiday.
4. Download Cartwheel from the App Store.
Not many of our guests know about Cartwheel, which is so sad because it’s so awesome. It’s basically a mobile coupon app where you can put multiple deals on the same coupon. Here’s how it works:
The app looks like this. Open it up and you’ll see a big barcode. This is your super-barcode, which is all of the deals in one barcode.
To search for deals on products, you can either tap the top left three-line thing and search for them by department, or you can double-tap the barcode button on the top right to pull up a barcode scanner.
You can just pick up any item and scan it to see if there’s a deal. Hint: most deals on Cartwheel are for Target’s house brands like Up&Up, Archer Farms, Market Pantry, etc.
5. Apply for a REDcard.
Really. I’m not telling you this because I have to, I’m telling you this because it’s worth it. I highly recommend the debit card — it connects right to your checking account. No hidden fees, no nothing. Just 5% off every time you shop at Target.
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