The Best Time to Buy(Literally Anything)
We don't want to brag, but if there's one thing we know at NetVoucherCodes, it's discount codes. We've been in the business of online shopping, codes and all things consumer savings since 2008 (that's a long time!).
To help Brits even more with their everyday shopping, we've dug through five years of discount codes and savings to find out the best time to buy absolutely anything.
Looking for a hair straightener? You should probably shop in November. Looking for the biggest savings on children's clothes? You'll find the biggest savings in May. Can't decide when to shop for Christmas? September has the biggest number of discount codes.
So check out our Best Time to Buy Report and find out exactly when you should be shopping.
Key Findings
- ↑%
The number of discount codes has increased by 42% over 5 years.
Women's Fashion, Home & Garden and Health & Beauty are the most popular categories for discount codes.
- AugSepOct
September is the biggest month for discount codes, followed by October and November.
- ThFSSM
Black Friday has the most discount codes of the seasonal sales followed by Cyber Monday, Christmas & Valentine's Day.
How We Conducted the Study
To find out the best time to buy most products and services, we analysed our own internal data of voucher codes and offers over the past five years. We broke the data down into the number of codes and offer values by year, month, day and product to discover the best time to buy literally anything you can think of!
Overview
The number of discount codes has increased by 42% over 5 years
Since 2019, we've seen discount codes generally becoming more popular. Over the past 5 years there has been a steady increase year on year, accumulating to a 42% increase in voucher codes.
The average percentage discount is now at 17.91%
Although discount codes are more popular than ever, over the years the value of percentage-off discount codes has decreased gradually. Over a five-year period, percentage discount codes have decreased by 12.16% overall, going from a 20.39% average discount to 17.91%.
The average discount code value has increased by 24% over 5 years
When looking at money value related discount codes, we've seen the opposite trend. Although they decreased sharply in value from 2019 to 2020 by 19.44%, over a five-year period they've increased by 23.85%. This has taken an average discount code from saving consumers £60.23 to £74.60. This may seem high, but high-ticket items like holidays tend to offer lump-sum discounts, rather than a percentage as per other industries.
These are the most common industries for discount codes
In terms of categories, the most popular category for voucher codes is women's fashion with 3,064 codes available in 2023. This is followed by the home & garden category with 2,574 and health & beauty category with 2,198.
The Best Month to Shop for a Deal
When looking at the number of discount codes going live over a year period, we see a trend of when the best time is to shop online.
There's a clear trend of the best time to shop for a deal, starting with September with 2,426 live codes, more than any other month of the year. This continues into October with 2,396 codes and finally November dropping to 2,154. This could mean that the best time to shop for a deal is actually months before Black Friday.
Interestingly, December is the worst time to shop with discount codes. As we lead up to Christmas, there are less deals offered by retailers as consumers scramble to make their last-minute holiday purchases. This is followed by the quiet period of February, with 1,478 codes, just as Boxing Day and New Year sales have ended.
The Best Time to Buy Popular Products
Timing your purchases can make a big difference, whether you're looking for holiday gifts, upgrading your electronics, or replenishing your hair care routine. Retailers often roll out their best deals during specific times of the year, and knowing when to shop can help you snag the biggest discounts.
From Black Friday sales on high-end electronics to back-to-school promotions on everyday essentials, the graphs below break down the best times to buy across various categories, helping you make the most of seasonal sales and special promotions throughout the year.
Womens Fashion
Home & Garden
Health & Beauty
Mens Fashion
Mother & Baby
Calendar of Shopping
By analysing the past year of detailed discount code and online deal data, we created a calendar that shows you the best time of year to buy anything so you can take the guesswork out of deal shopping.
While September, October and November are classically the biggest times of the year to shop, with Black Friday and the lead up to Christmas, if you're looking for specific products it might not be the best time of year to hunt for a deal.
If you're in the market for new lingerie, February, the month for Valentine's Day, has the most discount codes. Those looking for deals on tyres should wait until August while the most travel deals appear in July.
The Best Products to Buy Each Month
January
- Bathroom
- Mother & Baby
- Outdoors
- Flowers
February
- Beds & Mattresses
- Lingerie
March
- Flowers
- Holidays
- Hotels
- Lighting
- Luxury Holidays
- Motoring
- Sweets & Chocolate
April
- Jewellery & Watches
- Sportswear & Equipment
- Weddings
- Car Accessories
May
- Flowers
- Audio
- Going Out
- Extreme Sports
June
- Car Accessories
- Televisions
- Mens Shoes & Boots
- Mobile Phones
July
- Airport Parking
- Golf
August
- Tyres
- Fitness & Nutrition
- Furniture
- Garden
September
- Computer Accessories
- Computers & Software
- Cooking
- Designer Mens
- Sports & Outdoors
- Wellbeing
- DIY
October
- Books, Movies, Music & Games
- Children's Clothing
- Designer Womens
- Dresses & Skirts
- Electrical Goods
- Finance & Insurance
- Food & Drink
- Fridges & Freezers
- Health & Beauty
- Home Appliances
- Home & Garden
- Home Accessories
- Kitchen
- Laundry & Cleaning
- Male Grooming
- Mens Accessories
- Mens Coats & Jackets
- Mens Fashion
- Mens Tops & T-shirts
- Pets
- Photography
- Shoes
- Small Appliances
- Tops & T-shirts
- Toys
- Toys & Gadgets
- Weight Loss
- Womens Accessories
- Womens Coats & Jackets
November
- Business & Office Supplies
- Women's Jewellery
December
- Fragrance
The Best Time to Buy Your Favourite Brands
Now that we've uncovered the best times to snag deals on different products, let's dive into finding the perfect moment to score amazing discounts on your favourite brands. Whether you're a savvy shopper always on the lookout for the latest bargains or just want to treat yourself, we've got the insider scoop.
We've crunched the numbers from the past year, analysing our internal data to bring you the most savings-packed shopping moments. By examining the number of discount codes available, the average percentage off, and overall savings, we've pinpointed the best times to shop for the brands you love.
Take a look at the charts below and get ready to plan your next big bargain hunt:
Currys
John Lewis
Boots
The Best Time to Shop Seasonally
Shopping at different times of the year gives us different savings. So if you're planning on buying Christmas gifts in advance, or wondering whether to wait until Cyber Monday for the best savings, we've found the best seasonal dates to shop.
Our data reveals that the top seasonal time of the year to shop is Black Friday with 6,581 codes over five years. This is closely followed by Christmas with 4,734 codes and Cyber Monday with 4,084.
Interestingly, Mother's Day sees a total of 1,393 codes over five years, much higher than Father's day with just 985. Father's day is also seeing the biggest decline in discount codes over the five years of 81.7%. This is followed closely by Christmas with a 80.5% decline and Easter with a 60% decline.
Back to School has seen the highest increase of codes of 225% over five years followed by Bank Holidays with a 17% increase and the January Sales with a 7.5% increase.
Read on to find out the best times to shop based on specific seasonal sales:
The Best Time to Shop Black Friday
Black Friday is notoriously the biggest time of the year to shop for deals. The sale period has extended past the last Friday of November, to encapsulate the entire month with deals and offers on almost everything you can think of.
Over the years, Black Friday codes have increased incredibly from 2020 to 2021, and 2021, to 2022. However, in the past year Black Friday codes have decreased by 30% from 2022 to 2023 indicating that the biggest shopping day of the year may be slowing down.
Black Friday deals go live as early as October 4th. They tend to gain momentum at the beginning of November, with the biggest number on Black Friday week starting Monday, peaking on Black Friday. Cyber Monday continues this peak and continues for a couple of days after. The weekends are notoriously quieter.
Over a five year period we see the length of live discount codes for Black Friday sales has increased by 27%, rising from an average length of 6.36 days to 8.08 days. This is in line with the trend that Black Friday is no longer just a one-day event, but spans across the whole of November.
Steve Barnes, Managing Director of NetVoucherCodes predicts that Black Friday this year will be busier than previous years:
With consumers being squeezed due to ongoing cost of living rises, businesses and brands are going to be competing aggressively for every sale by providing the best discounts.
However, Black Friday isn't always the best time to buy certain products and consumers need to be savvy if they want to make their hard earned cash go further. When analysing our data, we realised there are clear seasonal patterns by product category, when there are more discount codes available, as well as varying discount amount levels.
We decided to publish this data to help our users make informed choices as to when might be the best time to purchase various products. If your purchase is not time sensitive, then we recommend looking through our charts and using them to purchase your item at the optimal time, for when the best discounts are available.
Check out our Black Friday codes to help you snag the best deal this year.
The Best Time to Shop Christmas
Christmas is another key time to shop during the year as everyone is trying to buy their last minute gifts in time for the holiday.
Over the years, we don't see too much of a trend in terms of Christmas codes. Generally, over a 5 year period they have decreased significantly from 949 codes in 2019 to 254 codes in 2023 showing a marked difference of 73.23%.
However, when looking more granularly, the number of codes decreased by 22% from 2019 to 2020, then increased by 27% the year after, decreased again from 2021 to 2022 by 78%, and then increased last year by 28%.
Check out our Christmas codes to help you snag the best deal this year.
The Best Time to Shop Valentine's Day
While Valentine's Day may not be celebrated by all, there are plenty of discount codes available from flowers to gifts, meal deals to cards.
Over a five year period, Valentine's Day discount codes have declined by 31.21% overall from a starting number of 157 codes in 2019 to 108 in 2023. From 2020, to 2021 and 2022 there was a steady increase of 17.12% and 41.52%, but in the last year between 2022 and 2023 they dropped by 55.37%
The Most Common Discount Codes
Have you ever found yourself spamming the promo code section of a website in the hopes of scoring some money off when you're not sure if there's even a saving to be had?
We've analysed our huge database of discount codes spanning back nearly ten years and have revealed the most common codes for the year's biggest seasonal sales to take the guesswork out of shopping.
Using our data, consumers are now able to make the most educated guess possible about how to score secret discounts for their favourite retailers.
The Most Common Black Friday Discount Codes
When analysing Black Friday codes, we found that the most common discount code is the classic ‘BLACKFRIDAY’ in all capitals. If you're looking to snag a deal around November, using this code gives you the best chance of a hidden deal.
Other popular codes include ‘BF’, ‘BLACK’ and ‘EXTRA’. These codes are often accompanied by either the saving, with some of the most common being 20%, 10% and 25%, or the last two digits of the current year. So try adding on ‘24’ to your discount codes for the best chance.
The most common Black Friday discount codes are:
The Most Common Cyber Monday Discount Codes
Cyber Monday discount codes follow a very similar format with ‘CYBER’ in all capitals most likely to snag you a deal on the day.
Also try the format ‘EXTRA’ with savings such as 10, 20 and 25 added onto the end to see which one might work best. This will not only work for Cyber Monday, but also other large sales times of the year. Using the prefix ‘CYBER’ before the saving amount is also a popular discount code.
The most common Cyber Monday discount codes are:
The Most Common Christmas Discount Codes
For Christmas, the formats are slightly different with the capitalisations of ‘SAVE’ and ‘XMAS’ the two most popular discount codes. Adding these randomly during the checkout stage could give you significant savings.
Using these terms, along with ‘EXTRA’ or ‘GIFT’ and adding a saving amount to the end could also give you some hefty discounts. Practice with the most common discount amounts such as 10, 15, 20 and 25 for the best success rate.
The most common Christmas discount codes are:
The Most Common Valentine's Day Discount Codes
If you're looking to score your partner the perfect gift at a cheaper price, ‘VALENTINE’ is the best discount code to try out at the checkout as the most popular code over the Valentine's Day sale period.
‘LOVE’, ‘EXTRA’ and ‘VDAY’, all prefixed to a certain percentage of savings ranging from 10 to 25, is also a common format of discount code, along with capitalised ‘LOVE’ by itself.
The most common Valentine's Day discount codes are:
How to Get the Best Savings by Shopping Seasonally
Rebecca Bebbington, consumer champion at NetVoucherCodes reveals her top tips to get the best savings when shopping seasonally:
Know the Seasonal Sales Calendar
Understanding when sales occur can significantly enhance your shopping strategy. For instance, January's clearance period, which follows the Christmas season, often features substantial discounts. Look out for Easter sales as well, where clothing and home goods are commonly reduced. Summer sales typically happen in late July and August, clearing out summer stock at great prices. Keep an eye on Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November, which are excellent for scoring deals on electronics and gifts.
Sign Up for Newsletters
Joining mailing lists for your favourite retailers can be a savvy move. Many retailers send out notifications about sales, exclusive discounts, and promotions to their subscribers. This can help you stay informed about the best times to shop for seasonal items at reduced prices.
Follow Social Media Accounts
Many retailers announce flash sales and discounts on their social media platforms. By following your favourite brands on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, you can stay updated on the latest deals.
Make Use of Coupons and Voucher Codes
Before making a purchase, always look for online coupon codes or vouchers. These can often be found in magazines, local newspapers, or coupon websites and can provide additional savings.
Track Prices Over Time
Consider using tools or apps that track the price history of items you want. This way, you can purchase items when prices drop, ensuring you get the best deal possible.