Learn Grocery Store Sales Cycles

To get the best savings, stock up when prices are rock bottom. Prices usually hit rock bottom about once every 3 months. When you match-up coupons with these rock bottom prices, you score great deals!

But how do you know when certain products will be on sale?

Most everyday products have a sales cycle of about 3 months (some shorter, some longer). That means that if cereal (for example) is on sale this week at the lowest it will go, then it likely will be at that price again in another 3 months or so. Three months isn’t ALWAYS the case, but it’s a good rule-of-thumb. So grab enough to stock up for 3 months :)

With yearly sales cycles, PRICES DROP when DEMAND goes UP. Marketers know that during certain times of the year most people are going to the store for certain items. For example, in November most people are buying turkey. Around Super Bowl time most people are buying chips & salsa. And at the beginning of the summer most people are  buying grilling items and condiments like BBQ sauce, ketchup, meat, etc…  The grocery store knows you are going to buy these items so the make the prices rock bottom to get you in the door, then hope you'll buy all your other items while you are there and they'll make up the difference.

BUT, we can use this to OUR advantage. If we shop the sales cycles and stock-up when the price is low then we will have enough of that product to last us through when the price is higher again. And we won’t be running to the store for $3.50 BBQ Sauce in December! We will have gotten enough of it in June when it was on sale for a $1 and there was a $1/1 or 50¢/1 coupon to go with it to make it free! 

The yearly sales cycles are actually pretty easy to figure out. For the most part think about what people are WANTING to buy that month… and it’s likely on sale!

Here’s a short rundown of the basic yearly grocery store sales cycles:

January

Super Bowl Sunday (snacks, chips, salsa, pizza, soda)
New Years Resolutions (diet foods)
Cold & Flu Season (medicine, vitamins, etc…)

February

Valentine’s Day (candy, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE…. CHOCOLATE)
National Canned Foods Month
Breakfast Foods

March

Frozen Food Month
Spring Cleaning Starts (lots of deals on household cleaner)

April

Easter (ham, baking items, eggs)
Passover (Kosher foods)
Earth Day (organic, natural items)

May

Grilling Season begins/Memorial Day (condiments, meat, cheese, etc)
Cinco De Mayo (tortillas, beans, etc…)

June

National Dairy Month
July 4th (pretty much the same as grilling season)

July

July 4th (same as above)
National Ice Cream Month 

August

Back To School (snacks, juices, school supplies)

Steptember

Back To School continues
Breakfast Foods (part of the Back To School promos)

October

Getting ready for fall baking
Halloween/Fall Festivals (candy)

November

Thanksgiving (turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, baking supplies)
Black Friday (no specific items, but even grocery/drug stores will have some GREAT Black Friday deals)

December

Christmas (ham, turkey still lower than normal, party items)

That’s just a BASIC list, but like I said, it’s pretty easy to figure out. Just think to yourself “what food is pretty much everyone wanting to buy right now?” and that food will likely be at (or close to) your “stock up price”.

With a few exceptions (like Canned Food Month and Frozen Food Month) it all goes right in line with the holidays and major events.

Thanks Surviving the Stores!