Shopping Experts Say to Expect Sales as Stores Receive Delayed Christmas Deliveries

Many people have already put their holiday decorations away, but there’s no better time to buy more than now.

Remember supply chain issues and shipping delays leading up to Christmas?

Shopping experts say orders stores made for the holidays are now starting to arrive at stores, which means decoration deals and other shopping steals.

“A lot of the things that stores ordered that they were hoping to have on holiday shelves -- holiday shopping season -- just didn't come through and a lot of it's starting to come through right now,” said RetailMeNot shopping expert Kristin McGrath.

McGrath says while there are always post-holiday sales, most would be over by mid-January.

“Welcome to the loading dock. Welcome to unloading ugly Christmas sweaters in the second week of January, wouldn't that be great to get as a gift for Valentine's Day?,” said Maurice “Mo” Cayer, a psychology & management distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven.

Cayer spent a lot of time leading teams at JC Penney and Macy’s.

The now UNH professor says retailers are finally seeing these orders arrive which were delayed due to pandemic supply chain stress and shipping delays.

While some retailers may hold on to some timeless items until next season, Cayer says stores are most likely going to try and return what they can or get it out on shelves so stock doesn’t clog up their warehouses.

“But a lot of stuff is just going to go on the markdown counters, and get cleared out,” Cayer said.

Browsing the shelves of Michaels in New Britain, a store employee told NBC CT she was just unboxing Christmas decorations that just arrived. Halloween décor too.

Shoppers were taking advantage of the discounts.

“I came down to Michael’s to buy yarn, but I don’t find what I want, so I ended up buying this for Christmas next year,” said Arminda George of Hartford, holding wrapping bags

“I thought this was adorable. It was like six bucks or something,” said a West Hartford shopper about a Christmas tree decoration she purchased.

McGrath says it’s not just holiday decorations you can expect discounts on, but think winter clothing and even kitchen supplies too.

“Like a coffee maker or blender, those things are really giftable items. And so those are some of those items, too, that retailers have a bit of a surplus in right now, because a lot of those weren't on shelves for holiday shoppers,” McGrath said.

And as we near the Super Bowl, she says expect TV sales too.

“For a lot of shoppers, Black Friday was a bit disappointing this year, just because of the supply chain issues. There just wasn't the variety of deals and screen sizes that we've grown accustomed to, so this is kind of a second chance,” said McGrath.

So for those with cash to spend, it may be worth shopping now, stocking up, saving a buck, and storing for later.

“I think it’s amazing. It’s just good for next year, for fall time, just decorate the house. My mom loves to decorate too, so I love it,” said Kasia Dabkowski of New Britain.