When is the Next sale 2024 & how to book a VIP slot
The Next sale date is the perfect chance for shopaholics to bag a bargain from one of the UK’s favourite stores.
Every year Next has four big sales events where you can pick up cut price goods from the shop.
The savings are often 50% off the original price but on some items customers have reported getting as much as 70% off.
Whether you want to treat yourself to a new outfit or stock up on essentials for the kids’ wardrobes, it’s worth making a note of the Next sales events so that you can get the best prices.
You give yourself a better chance of picking up the items you need by bagging a VIP slot to the Next sale. We will talk about how you can book one of this in this article!
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What’s included in the Next sales?
Previous sales in Next have included products from the following key departments:
- Womenswear
- Menswear
- Kids clothing – including baby clothes
- Home and furniture
- Branded fashion – Next sells goods from big name brands such as Lipsy and Missguided
Next sale dates 2024
In order to predict when the Next sale dates will be we can look at previous years. This shows Next is likely to have four sales dates which will be spaced out between the seasons.
There’s always one starting on Boxing Day (with VIP access just before Christmas), but what about the other Next sales?
Here’s a look at the expected dates for this year:
- Next spring sale: March 23 (VIP access to start March 19)
- Next summer sale: Early July
- Next autumn sale: September 17 for VIP access, then September 21
- Next Boxing Day sale: December 26 (VIP access may start on December 21)
What time do Next sales begin?
The opening of Next stores will vary from branch to branch, so double check your local store opening online before heading off.
The major Next stores will open from 5am to 6am to allow early bird shoppers inside.
What is the Next VIP sale?
The Next VIP slots gives you access to the sales before anyone else, meaning you can snap up the best bargains before they sell out.
The Next VIP sales is online and held on a different website to the usual Next online store.
Next VIP slots typically begin a one to four days before the sale is accessible to everyone.
With as much as 50% off goods across the Next store, it may be worth getting the early access if you have your eye on particular items.
VIP slots giving you special access to the Next sale online are offered to customers who have a Nextpay credit card and account.
Because you need a store card I want to urge caution before you take one out. Remember that the APR on store card tends to be rather high (it’s 23.9% for the Next credit account), so do not take out the store card unless you intend to pay it off immediately before the interest kicks in. Otherwise that saving is going to have been almost for nothing!
How to book a Next VIP sale slot
You can wait for an email inviting you to sign up to a VIP slot or visit the Next sales page a few days before the sale is due to begin.
It isn’t always clear when booking will open, so keep checking back at the web page so that you can get early access to the best shopping slots.
In order to be eligible for a Next VIP sale slot customers need to:
- Have a Next credit account with Nextpay.
- Make sure your Next credit account has at least £250 credit available at the time you apply for a VIP slot.
- Have placed and kept an order from the Next Directory in the last year.
- Have an email address registered with Next that is also registered to receive sale and promotional emails.
- Have returned less than two thirds of the items you have ordered.
- You can only get one lot per customer and the slots are limited on a first come, first served basis.
So in order to be eligible for a Next VIP slot you need to do some planning ahead and make sure you are logging onto your computer when the slots become available.
When the booking opens for VIP slots customers who are eligible will receive an email inviting them to book a slot to shop.
But many customers report being able to book a slot early by heading to the website first thing in the morning on the day slots become available.
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Tips for making the most of the Next sale
Get in early
Whether you bag a VIP slot or turn up at the store first thing in the morning, be sure you get to the sale early as the best stuff goes quickly. Items in homeware and furniture go especially fast.
But if you do not manage to get in early, it can be a good idea to wait until around an hour before closing time.
By this point some items bought in the morning may already have been returned (really!) and staff will have had a chance to tidy up the chaos from the morning rush.
This means those odd shoes will have been repaired and extra stock found from the back.
Plan ahead
Take a look in store before the sale takes place and scope out the items you would like to buy.
Make a note of where they are and if you plan to shop online then bookmark the relevant pages on the Next website so you can get to them quickly.
Look at the labels
You can spot which items may go into the sale days before it is due to start by looking at the labels on the clothes.
Staff will mark the labels with a pen close to the barcode. This usually is written as a letter and then a number, for example “F14”.
Ignore the letter, but Next insiders say the number normally indicates what the product will be discounted to.
Consider avoiding flagship Next stores
The large Next branches will attract the biggest crowds and may mean you are waiting for a long time to get into the store.
Once you’re inside it may be very crowded.
For this reason it could be better to target one of the smaller stores. You may not see quite such a big range of stock but if you’ve planned ahead you could still pick up some great bargains.
Re-buy at sale price
This is a bit cheeky and you won’t be popular with the busy sales assistants for using this tactic, but it can work.
It means you won’t have to worry about getting the item you wanted in your size, but it is a bit of a gamble.
Buy the item you want a few days before the sale begins, then go in and return it during the sale and then re-buy the item at the sale price.
In some Next stores returns won’t be accepted during the sale because they are so busy dealing with sale shoppers. For this reason this tactic does not have success guaranteed, but it’s worth considering.
Bring water
It can get really hot when the stores get so crowded. Try to keep yourself hydrated and remember to be nice to the staff as they are super busy on Sale days.
Does Next do Black Friday?
Next decided not to participate in Black Friday in 2020.
However in previous years the retailer has joined other big name high street brands in taking part in Black Friday sales.
Your best bet is to keep an eye on the Next website in November to keep up to date on Next’s plans for Black Friday 2021.
Next sale returns
You can return items you decide not to keep within 28 days of purchasing.
This also applies to online transactions.
Other ways to save when shopping at Next
If you cannot wait until the Next sales dates to get your shopping fix, there are other ways to save money when shopping at Next.
Next clearance bargains
Next has a clearance section on its website where discounted products are added.
It’s worth a look here if you want to save money on your shopping. Some items may be slightly out of season but if you shop ahead for the next season then you can make decent savings.
The clearance section includes items from all over the Next store including furniture, homeware and clothing. Some items may be as much as 50% off.
Sign up for Nextunlimited
Next usually charges £3.99 for standard home delivery of smaller items such as clothing.
But for £20 a year you get unlimited free home deliveries under the Nextunlimited deal. There is no minimum order value or maximum number of times you can order items.
Whether this works out as a saving for you depends on how many times you order items through the Next website.
If you order Next products to be delivered to your aim at least five times a year, then it works out cost neutral. Any more than that, then you start to make a small saving.
Get a Next credit account
Next looks after its credit account holders by giving them access to special promotions.
This can include a special reduction in new season items or money off your first credit purchase.
By signing up you get £10 off your first credit purchase of £15 or more.
Final thoughts on Next sales
I hope you are now well prepared to shop the Next sales!
If you want to save more money then you may want to check out my post on supermarket yellow stickers and when the optimum time to buy discounted food in store is every day.
