Six ways to find secret sales for high street shops and supermarkets – from email junk trick to price checking tactic
From website search tricks to key dates to log in the calendar, you could save hundreds on your shopping with our tips
NEED something new but don't want to pay full price?
There are lots of tricks for finding little known discounts and offers that are harder to find.
3
HARRIET COOKE reveals how to find secret sales for your favourite high street brands.
TREASURE YOUR JUNK
Hate all those junk emails from shops flooding your inbox?
Don't delete them, they could save you a fortune.
The key is to manage them properly.
Set up a separate account and use it to sign up to your favourite retailers' email lists.
That way your regular inbox won't overflow.
Scan through your 'junk' inbox for sales and offers.
Tom Church, of money-saving site LatestDeals.com, said: 'I've signed up to over 2,000 retailer email newsletters.
'I can search for 'sale' to see which retailers have launched a new sales event.'
Email offers we've spotted include 50 per cent off Clarks shoes and 20 per cent off at Smiggle.co.uk on a £50 spend.
Sign up for newsletters, as you may be rewarded with exclusive discount codes and "VIP" invites to secret sales.
Tu customers can get 10 per cent off, while Argos customers can get a £10 off a £60 spend voucher, if they sign up to newsletters.
JOIN THE CLUB
Loyalty schemes are a great way of bagging discounts, and many are free to join.
Usually, you'll need to sign up by creating an online account and sharing details such as your email address and phone number.
Members of the My John Lewis loyalty scheme can get a £5 off e-gift card to use on a £50 spend, as well as a free hot drink and cake voucher to use in store.
Act fast, as many deals have a time limit.
Halfords' Motoring Club is offering £5 off an MOT and 50 per cent off a Halfords Air Shelter camping tent until tomorrow (June 23).
Tesco Clubcard holders get personalised Clubcard coupons in their app or with their receipt.
Every 100 Clubcard points gives you £1 to spend in store, or £2 to use with 'reward partners' like Pizza Express and Disney+.
GRAB A FLIER
Grab an in-store magazine or flyer from your local supermarket.
They contain information about discounts and sales.
Aldi's leaflet is near the exit and published every two weeks.
It lists six items at low prices in each issue.
Recent offers include cucumbers for 69p, down from 89p, and a six-pack of apples for 89p, reduced from £1.49.
Lidl's fliers are at the exit and reveal "pick of the week" discounts.
These include 35 per cent on fresh fruit and veg, limited offers on meat, and multibuy offers on bakery items. Get three apple turnovers for £1.50.
Tesco has exclusive offers in its in-store magazine, which you can also access online.
These can sometimes be combined with Clubcard prices.
This month there's a coupon for £1 off a four pack of Bonne Maman rhubarb yoghurts. They are also reduced from £2.95 to £2 for Clubcard members, so you can bag them for £1.
SEARCH LIKE A PRO
Use Google to see when a favourite retailer had its sale last year.
Plot these dates in your diary - they can act as a rough guide for when this year's sale could launch.
For example, if you search "Tu Clothing Sale", select the button 'Tools' and change 'Any Time' to 'Past year', you can work out when the previous sales were.
Visit latestdeals.co.uk/tags/sale for discounts across shops like Dunelm and Boots.
Follow brands on Instagram and TikTok.
Many give away discount codes and offers on these platforms that don't appear elsewhere.
Sage Appliances are running an Instagram competition to win a Sage Barista Touch Impress coffee machine, for example.
BARGAIN WEBSITES
Hundreds of discounted designer clothes and homeware items are available at the online marketplace secretsales.com.
Brands include River Island, Superdry and Asos.
We spotted big savings like a £50 Asos party dress on sale for £11.23.
Secretlabel.co.uk also lists goodies from brands like M&S, Zara and H&M for up to 75 per cent off.
Amazon Resale sells returned, open-box, or pre-owned products at discounted prices.
Customers can save more than 30 per cent.
We spotted a used gaming computer mouse for £90.94 which would be £119 if bought new.
Ebony Cropper from the advice service Money Wellness, said: 'Prices often drop further on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
'You can sometimes get an extra 20 per cent off during quieter months like February or September.'
CHECK PRICES
Check an item's price history to see the cheapest it has been sold for.
This is a good benchmark to figure out when to buy your shopping.
If shops are selling the item at a higher price, it's worth waiting to see if it drops.
Use Pricehistory.com to see what Argos has previously sold products for, and Camelcamelcamel.com to track Amazon prices.
Copy the link to the product page.
The Wayback machine, web.archive.org, archives screenshots from millions of different websites and can be used to see the previous cost of a product.
'I've saved £100 from shopping on secret site'
BARGAIN hunter Emma Bradley has saved more than £100 on designer clothes and jewellery by shopping on a secret sales site.
Emma, 49, from Gloucester, uses secretsales.com for big discounts.
She's previously bagged a £99 AQ Logo Black Hoodie from Aquascutum for £48, a £55 silver mini skirt from Sosander for £32, and a £60 Swarovski bracelet for £20.
Emma, who runs a blogger support and advice service Emma Bradley Coaching, said: "I love sites like Secret Sales.
"Many of the lines are from previous seasons but it's great to find key pieces and timeless classics.
"It's great for teens who want labels and branded clothes. It keeps the 'bank of mum' happy."
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