Shops slash prices to record lows with up to 70% off sales at Debenhams and Next as high street battles to survive
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SHOPPERS have seen the price of goods at high street retailers fall to record lows over the past month with huge up to 70 per cent off sales at Debenhams, Matalan, M&S, and Next.
The high street has been forced to close due to the coronavirus lockdown, which has pushed many into offering online sales with up to 70 per cent off in a bid to keep cash flowing through the doors.
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Currently, John Lewis, Matalan, M&S, and Next all have up to 50 per cent off sales online, while Debenhams has 60 per cent off. But when The Sun checked we found even larger discounts of up to 75 per cent off certain items.
Retail analysts have predicted discounts of up to 70 per cent off throughout July, August and September, as well as flash sales as retailers prepare to entice shoppers back once they're allowed to reopen from June 15.
Shops may also launch further online sales to flog unsold stock.
The shops with online sales already live
HERE are the online sales are all available right now:
- : There is a big range on sale for up to 50 per cent off including mens and women's, and up to 50 per cent off kids clothes. Some sections have bigger discounts including women's outdoor clothing and sportswear, which has 60 per cent off, although we found items with 70 per cent off. There's also up to 20 per cent off beauty and fragrance products.
- : Up to 70 per cent discounts are available on women's and mens clothes, although we saw some items with 72 per cent off.
- : There's a 20 per cent off code available across all items in its online Outlet section.
- : You can get 50 per cent off a selection of clothes in the mens and women's sections.
- : High street staple M&S has launched a 50 per cent off "Rainbow Sale" which includes selected items. There's also lots of other discounts including 20 per cent off shoes.
- : Women's, mens, children's and homeware all are included in Matalan's current up to 50 per cent off sale.
- : At Monsoon there's up to 50 per cent off all stock included in its mid-season sale on women's clothes and accessories.
- : There is an up to 60 per cent off sale at New Look, which includes mens, women's, and the 915 girls section.
- : The Next sale says its items are up to 50 per cent off or more but if you search within the sale items there are bigger discounts on a few items.
- : Up to 30 per cent has been knocked off a wide-range of summer clothes at Topshop. It also has special summer prices on certain items, such as 50 per cent off summer dresses.
- : There's up to 75 per cent off clothes at Tu including mens, women's, and children's wear.
It comes as new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Nielsen shop price index for May reveals that overall prices slid by 2.4 per cent following a 1.7 per cent drop in April - the highest rate of decline since the series began in December 2006.
Non-food retailers, such as clothing stores, saw prices drop by an even larger 4.6 per cent in May - again, the sharpest decline since December 2006 - compared to a fall of 3.7 per cent in April.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "Shop prices in May fell at their fastest rate since 2006, which was largely driven by the drop in non-food prices.
"Clothing and furniture saw the biggest drop as retailers ran promotions to encourage consumer spending and attempted to mitigate recent losses."
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, added: "With the retail industry coping with store closures and social distancing limitations, it's no surprise to see shop price inflation slowing in recent weeks."
But not all retailers are following suit; Primark says it won’t offer big discounts when it reopens all of its 153 stores in England on 15 June.
That's despite the clothing chain building up almost £2billion-worth of unsold stock during lockdown - double its normal holding.
What's in the sales?
Here's a round-up of what's in some of the sales we've seen. Just remember that just because an item is in the sale at one retailer doesn't mean you can't get it cheaper elsewhere.
Use an online price comparison tool, such as Google Shopping, to check prices elsewhere before you buy.
You should also check if retailers have imposed a minimum order threshold before you buy, and if they're charging delivery fees as these can quickly negate any discount you're getting.
And be aware that as these items are in the sale they may not always have clothes left in your size.
Beauty - up to 20 per cent off
Debenhams has a on certain beauty and fragrance products but some items have even larger discounts, so it's worth checking out.
We found this reduced from £20 to £24, which is the cheapest price we could find online for this limited edition Valentine's Day rouge.
Clothing - up to 75 per cent off
Lots of retailers have up to 75 per cent off clothing sales on at the moment on children's, women's, and menswear.
For example, while M&S has a on at the moment, we found this children's denim dress at with 75 per cent off reduced to £5 from £20.
Other high street retailers sell similar dresses for between £8 and £30.
Meanwhile, Tu at Sainsbury's has an on across menswear, childrens and womens clothes. It includes this reduced by 70 per cent from £15 to £4.50.
Similar men's pink shirts can range in price from around £10 to £50 at other high street retailers.
Garden furniture - up to 70 per cent off
Homebase currently has an , which includes this reduced by 46 per cent from £27.97 to £15.
It also has a slightly different reduced from £7.95 to £5.50, which is the cheapest price we could find online.
Meanwhile, Halfords has certain items in its summer sale including this reduced by 12.5 per cent from £80 to £70.
You can, however, get a more basic gazebo without any side panels for £25 at .
Homeware - up to 50 per cent off
Matalan has on clothing and homeware products.
It includes this with two pillow cases reduced from £20 to £10. Children's duvet sets can cost roughly £14 to £30 elsewhere.
Toys - up to 50 per cent off
Argos has a on 576 toys and many have up to 50 per cent off, including this from Disney's Toy Story 4, which is reduced from £20 to £10.
It's the cheapest price for the toy we could find online.
What's happened to food prices?
Unlike clothing, food prices rose by 1.5 per cent in May, although that is a slowdown compared to 1.8 per cent in April, according to the BRC.
Meanwhile, fresh food prices also moved marginally higher, with inflation slowing to 0.5 per cent from 1 per cent in the previous month.
Supermarkets have been allowed to remain open during lockdown as they sell essential items, such as food and medicine.
But lockdown restrictions have gradually been easing with garden centres and homeware stores allowed to reopen over the past few weeks, and outdoor markets and car showrooms allowed to reopen from this week.
Non-essential retailers, such as clothes shops, will be allowed to reopen from June 15 - although they have been allowed to continue trading online throughout the coronavirus crisis.
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Ms Dickinson added: "Year-on-year food prices increased slightly due to higher business costs, implementing social distancing measures and the upward pressure from labour shortages, but were down on the previous month as more home-grown produce became available.
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"We expect to see continued upward pressure on food prices from the effects of the pandemic in the coming months, while non-food prices are likely to remain deflationary with subdued sales."
Mr Watkins said: "As we move towards summer with the importance of seasonal foods and with the supply chain still disrupted, we can anticipate some volatility in prices."