‘January’ Sales

What has happened to the grand tradition of January sales in this country? Once upon a time the shops were closed on Boxing Day the markdowns did not begin until 1st January. These days most shops were open Boxing Day and many stores began their sales well in advance of Christmas. I have just received an email from ASOS warning me that this is the last week of the sale (hang on, it’s only the first full week of January), and Next had their Spring/Summer collection loaded on to the website around 2nd January. Time was when there were only two big sales a year – January and the end of the summer, around mid-August. But no longer. Now the January sales are pre-Christmas, there are ‘mid-season’ sales every couple of months, and some stores have a permanent sale rack all year round. I’m not complaining (really, I’m not!), I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I always thought there was something special about the January sales – as a child you had your Christmas money and were allowed to go out and treat yourself to whatever it was that you wanted. It just doesn’t seem the same somehow when you can buy discounted items for yourself alongside your Christmas shopping.