Wholesale, January sales | The price expert sees a clear sales trend in Norwegian stores:

It’s been a couple of weeks since January, and you’ve probably already been hit by a number of sales announcements. The word “SALE” lights up and flashes everywhere. Now stores want to buy a lot – and think you’re making a good show.

But how good are the shows really – just a month and a half into this year’s big sales week – black week?

It is of course possible to make some good buying during the January sale, but the chance of hitting the mark is greater during the black week, says Are Vittersø, Norwegian director of comparison service Prisjakt.

– Indicates that too many products on sale now are on sale at other times during the year, so there are few unique offerings.

– Don’t let yourself get stressed by promotions

Vitrso refers to the evolution of prices in the past two months. Prices all get pretty good lows during Black Week and Black Friday, and then go up again, before getting a little lower again during Christmas and January sales.

– But this is insignificant when compared to the end of November. He says this trend has been consistent in all previous years as well.

If we compare the prices now with the prices on November 1, we will see that the prices are one percent lower now – if we see all the products in all categories in one category.

Vittersø believes that price statistics are proof that it is a good idea to check a product’s price history, to check if you are making a good purchase.

— He also says something about the fact that you don’t necessarily have to stress through campaigning shows for fear of never getting the same show again, he says.

These categories stand out

There are two categories that stand out the most in the price history. There are cell phones and beauty products.

—These categories are a little below average, but still not quite as good as Black Week, Vitterso says.

He also points out that the beauty category also consists of a number of products that fluctuate greatly in price, and have many ups and downs during the year.

—So even though beauty products sold well in January, those products are likely to be phased out again in other periods as well, Vitterso points out.

Less offers in January

There are fewer bids in January than in the last week of November, says Amund Espelien, general manager of price comparison service Prisguiden. He still thinks there are many good offers now.

As of now, 1100 of the 7000 total offered in the price guide are standard cheap.

In other words, there are many good deals to choose from, although the number of shows is somewhat lower than in Black Week and during the Christmas Sale, he says.

Esplin notes that in January sales, there are often a number of items other than what we usually see in black week.

– Currently, the categories “clothing and footwear”, “sports and leisure” and “appliances” have the largest number of offers, he says.

Limitation of what customers can believe in

NHH professor Øystein Foros says the number of times a year you can sell before you lose credibility is limited.

There is a limit to what you can convince customers of — that shopping today is more important than shopping later, he tells Nettavisen.

However, this is especially true for products that you buy on the rare occasion, and which should be for several years, such as skis, refrigerators and slalom shoes.

Foros believes that when the industry establishes clear sales periods, it is a double-edged sword.

– When prices are too low during these campaigns, many people switch their consumption until then. Black Week likely took over the Christmas and January sales. He says it’s somehow negative for the industry.

Foros explains that in previous years, stores sold slalom shoes at full price before Christmas, for example, because people bought Christmas gifts, and consumers thought it annoying to sell shoes during Christmas.

But at the same time, he thinks people can be less price sensitive before Christmas, because you have to buy Christmas gifts anyway. However, he points out, it might be a good idea to check the price history before buying expensive things that will last a long time, to see if you were ‘cheated’ by the January sale or if there really is a better offer now through black week .