Summer sales will take place from 26 June to 24 July this year. A relief for retailers after the difficult months marked by the pandemic.
After the winter sales were postponed until well after the reopening of non-essential shops earlier this year, shops have been granted to open on Sundays 27 June, as well as on 4, 11, and 18 July.
In France, the summer sales have been postponed due to the economic consequences of the Covid-19 health crisis for retailers. As a result, they will now start on Wednesday 30 June 2021 instead of Wednesday 23 June.
However, the French government has agreed to bring forward the date of the summer sales in the Moselle region, to adapt to the Luxembourg calendar. Moselle shops will therefore start their sales on 26 June.
Finally, in Belgium, no changes have been announced and discounts and other bargains will be available from 1 to 31 July.
Sales are regulated by law, which sets the dates and conditions. The initial aim was to allow retailers to clear their stocks before the new season. In reality, with new products arriving throughout the year, competition from online sales and the constant hunt for promotions, sales are mainly used to attract customers.
However, some businesses use practices that border on legality. You must therefore be careful to avoid their traps:
- Items cannot be ordered for the sales, they have to be on sale one month before the sales open.
- Some retailers raise prices in the shops just before the sales so that they can better sell them afterwards. It is best to have done a shop beforehand.
- Even if they are obliged to clearly display and isolate the items on sale, some merchants do not. There is a risk of ending up with products that are not on sale.
- Some retailers advertise very large discounts, compared to unrealistic reference prices that have never been applied.