When is the Best Time to Shop?

In December, it may seem like every day is a sale day. Ingrid Nieuwinhuizen, on a layover from Amsterdam, is grabbing up bargains on Uggs, Thomas the Tank Engine toys, and Bath and Body Works products.

"This is a shopping paradise!" says Nieuwinhuizen.

"There are pretty good discounts out there already!" says Michelle Judson, loaded with bags from Victoria's Secret.

But the truth is, some days are better to shop than others.

"There are some days that you'll find more values and more sales," admits Dan Butler, a vice president with the National Retail Federation.

Butler spent the early part of his career as a retail store manager, so he knows the method to the markdowns.

"It's programmed, it's scheduled, it's automatic-- they know that different consumers are on different schedules," explains Butler.

According to the website Shopittome.com, Friday used to be a big discount day, but the markdowns are coming earlier in the week.

"Clearly, retailers are racing to beat each other's sales," says Charlie Graham, founder and CEO of Shop It to Me.

The site analyzed online purchases of 90,000 items and discovered this:

• Shoppers looking for dresses, men's sweaters and boys' jeans should circle Tuesday on their calendars.
• Wednesday is the best day to find the steepest discounts on shoes, women's accessories, and girls' clothing.
• Wednesday and Thursday are now the days when stores put the most "new" items on sale.

And here's another secret:

"Many retailers set up their sales by 5 or 6 the night before, so you can beat the crowd and go in and sometimes those sales come up in the register," adds NRF's Butler.

Many shopping malls are making the sale scouting a bit easier for customers, too. The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, for example, lists all the weekly sales through its parent company website, www.simon.com .

Mondays are generally full-price days unless there's a special promotion. And speaking of promotions, retailers will really be pushing giftable items in the last 10 days before Christmas. You'll find the best prices on things you'd generally buy for yourself in the 10 days after Christmas.

Planning ahead and shopping smart is a strategy you can use no matter the season. For even when the signs are gone, stores will be marking down merchandise all year long.