Sales Cycles for Stockpiling

[flash]

OCTOBER:

Sales/Deals:
Halloween promos
Candy
Cookies
Baking season begins
Baking chocolate chips
Fruitcake/candied fruit
nuts

Fall promos
Apples
Pumpkins (fresh)

Pet products, food

Car care products


Daylight Savings time ends promos-
Batteries, smoke alarms, safety equipment, alarm clocks

Clearance items:
“last year” flavors of holiday foods – time to clear the shelves for new products and packaging…


Occasions:
Columbus Day
National Children’s Day
World Food Day/UN and UNICEF
Halloween
Daylight Savings time ends


Other Promotions this month:
Adopt a Shelter-Dog Month
Fire Prevention Week (10/5 – 10/11)
German-American Day
Pledge Across America/Reading/School Celebration
National Animal Safety and Protection Month
National Apple Month
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
National Chili Month
National Cookie Month
National Dental Hygiene Month
National Dessert Month
National Pizza Month
National Pork Month
National Pretzel Month
National Seafood Month


Produce in Season:
Almonds ~ Peak
Apples ~ Peak
Artichokes ~ Peak
Arugula ~ New
Basil ~ Waning
Beans, Fresh Shelling ~ Waning
Beans, Green ~ Waning
Beet Greens ~ New
Beets ~ New
Broccoli ~ New
Brussels Sprouts ~ New
Cabbages ~ New
Cardoon ~ Peak
Celeriac/Celery Root
Chard ~ New
Chestnuts ~ Peak
Cranberries ~ New
Daikon ~ New
Eggplant ~ Waning
Escarole ~ New
Fuerte Avacado ~ New
Fuyu (Firm) Persimmons
Garlic ~ Waning
Haas Avacado ~ Waning
Hachiya (Soft) Persimmon
Kale
Kohlrabi
Kumquat ~ New
Lemons ~ New
Lettuce ~ New
Orange, Valencia ~ Waning
Parsley ~ New
Parsnip
Pears, Bosc ~ New
Pears, Comice ~ New
Peppers, Hot ~ Waning
Peppers, Sweet ~ Waning
Pistachios ~ Peak
Pomegranate ~ Peak
Potatoes
Potatoes, Sweet ~ New
Pumpkin ~ Peak
Quince ~ Peak
Radish ~ New
Raspberries ~ Waning
Rutabaga ~ New
Spinach ~ New
Squash, Winter ~ Peak
Tomato ~ Waning
Turnip Greens ~ New
Turnips ~ New
Walnut ~ New
Yams ~ New
Zutano Avacado ~ New

[flash]

NOVEMBER:

Sales/Deals:
Quilts, blankets
Hot cocoa, coffee, tea
Canned foods – soup, broth, condensed milk, vegetables, fruits, spaghetti sauce
Baking goods

Great American SmokeOut promos-
Smoking cessation products (Nicorette, Commit, etc)

Holiday/Thanksgiving dinner foods
Turkey
Pumpkin (canned)
Stuffing mix
Potato mix
Butter
Sweet potatoes
Fresh potatoes
Gravy
Bread/rolls
Frozen pies
Cranberry sauce
Fresh cranberries

Clearance items:

Occasions:
Sadie Hawkins Day
Election Day
Veteran’s Day
Great American Smokeout – 11/20
Thanksgiving


Other Promotions this month:
American Diabetes Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
National American Indian Heritage Month
Peanut Butter Month


Produce in Season:
Almonds ~ Waning
Anjou Pears ~ New
Apples ~ Waning
Artichokes ~ Waning
Beans, Green ~ Waning
Beets
Bok Choy
Bosc Pears ~ Peak
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbages ~ New
Carrots ~ New
Celeriac/Celery Root
Celery ~ New
Chard ~ New
Chestnuts ~ Waning
Comice Pears ~ Peak
Cranberries ~ Peak
Daikon ~ Peak
Dill ~ Peak
Endive
Fuerte Avocado
Fuyu (Firm) Persimmons ~ Peak
Garlic ~ Waning
Guava, Pineapple ~ New
Hachiya (Soft) Persimmons ~ Peak
Huckleberries ~ Peak
Kale
Kiwi ~ New
Kohlrabi ~ Waning
Kumquats
Leek
Lemons ~ New
Mandarins: Tangerines ~ New
Mustard Greens
Orange, Navel ~ New
Parsnip
Pecans ~ Waning
Peppers, Hot ~ Waning
Peppers, Sweet ~ Waning
Pistachios ~ Waning
Pomegranate ~ Waning
Potato
Potatoes, Sweet ~ Peak
Quince ~ Waning
Radish ~ Waning
Rutabaga
Salad Mix
Squash, Winter ~ Peak
Sunchoke ~ New
Turnip ~ New
Yams ~ Peak
Zutano Avocado

[flash]

DECEMBER:

Sales/Deals:

Christmas dinner/Holiday party foods
Party/Deli platters
Cold cuts
Sour cream, dips
Crackers, chips
soda
Ham
Stuffing mix
Potato mix
Butter
Fresh potatoes
Gravy
Bread/rolls
Frozen pies
Green beans
Fried onion
Cream soups
Broth
Pie filling

Baking supplies
Flour
Sugar
Butter
Cream
Cake mix
Brownie mix
Muffin mix
Breads
Pie Crust
Marshmallow
Whipped cream

Wrapping paper, cards, ribbon, bows, tape

Egg nog
Party supplies, paper plates, napkins

Clearance items:
Post Thanksgiving clearance
Fall décor and craft clearance
After Christmas clearance

Occasions:
Chanukah
Winter begins
Christmas
New Year’s Eve
Kwansaa

Other Promotions this month:

Produce in Season:

Anjou Pears
Berries: Cranberries ~ Waning
Bok Choy
Bosc Pears ~ Peak
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts ~ Peak
Carrots
Cauliflower ~ New
Celeriac/Celery Root
Celery
Cherimoya ~ New
Comice Pears ~ Peak
Currants, Red
Daikon Radish ~ Waning
Dates, Fresh ~ Peak
Fuerte Pears
Grapefruit ~ New
Green
Haas Avocados ~ New
Kale
Kiwi
Kumquat
Lemon
Mandarins/Tangerines ~ Peak
Mushrooms, Wild ~ Peak
Napa Cabbage
Nuts: Walnuts, Chestnuts
Oranges, Navel ~ New
Parsleys
Parsnip ~ Waning
Quince
Red Cabbage
Rutabaga
Salad Mix
Savoy Cabbage
Spinach
Squash, Winter ~ Waning
Sunchoke
Sweet/Yams ~ Peak
Turnips ~ Peak
White Potato

[flash]

TIPS

No one likes to purchase “old” products, so any products packaged in holiday, special occasion, sporting event, or special promotion packaging will go on clearance after the event. Some of the largest packaged events include Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but also Super Bowl/Football, World Series/Baseball, Olympics, etc. Special packaging is common for any “party foods”, like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, crackers, and chips.


Any food customized to a holiday (cookies, candy, sprinkles in colors, etc.) will be on clearance after the holiday. Examples might be refrigerated cookie dough in ghost shapes after Halloween, or Red/White/Blue sprinkles after July 4th.


Manufacturers typically launch promotions around new products. Look for clearance prices right before a new product is announced (if you take consumer surveys or are on email newsletters from brands, you will probably get advanced notice of new products). Slotting fees for products are expensive, and they need to make room for new products by selling off the old products.

Once a new product arrives, look for major promotions to clear the first wave of the product. Stores don’t stock products that don’t sell, so companies want to “prove” that the product should be stocked.

Store promotions of loss leaders and special deals are usually timed around special occasions. The “loss leader” is just that…they are designed to “lead” the customer in to the store. Most consumers shop at only one or two stores each week, so the 10 cent bottle of BBQ sauce goes in to the cart with hundreds of dollars on meat, produce, cleansers, and other items priced higher than at other stores that remove the potential savings.

Seasonal items are typically at promotional/deal prices very early in the season. Consumers typically want to buy products to have them for the entire season without storing them in the off season.

Manufacturers and stores like to coordinate their offers, even if they are competing for business. For example, if Planters peanuts go on sale, you might not really notice. But for “National Peanut Month”, if Planters, Sunkist, Skippy, Jif, etc. ALL put out sales and coupons, consumers are more likely to notice and to purchase them during the promotional period.


Companies also coordinate their sales against each other, paying for “exclusivity”. So one brand will have exclusive rights to the promotion, the coupon inserts that week, the sales banners, even the “blinkie machine” space on the shelf.

[thickbluebug]

wahoo, great stuff. This is why we are getting the electrasol so cheap. The packaging is changing.

[MsKimber]

awesome info. thanks!

[thickbluebug]

bump for newbies

[bw52]

Hi,

I thought I found something on this site that said when things typically go on sale, but now that I need it, I can't find it anywhere! Is there a thread on here somewhere about it? If so, could you please point me in the right direction. Or give me the link! I'm trying to find out about the cereal deals. I just bought a TON of cereal 2 days ago with the Quaker deal, but now realize that Quaker is having an even BETTER sale (like 50 cents OOP, when all is said and done). Grr.... I hate just skipping a super good deal, so I want to buy even more, but since we already have a ton......well, you know. My DH is wondering where we're going to store it all and asked if this is a normal thing (cereal being super cheap). I'm new, so I don't know. Do they have a really good sale once a year and you all stock up? Or will I see another sale like this once a month and should just let it go? Thanks!

[shelleyf]

I know cereal goes on sale alot but write to Mrspinecone and she is the one who knows the cycle sales. She posted it before but I don't know how to make a link. lol