Deal-Hunting Guides

Target Clearance Schedule: How Markdowns Really Work

By Rowan Keller·Published November 9, 2026

Has been buying open-box and returned stock for over a decade, and built Warehouse Watcher to stop losing track of it.

The Target clearance schedule is a loose weekly rhythm: most items enter clearance at about 30% off, step down to 50% if they do not sell, and can reach 70% off before they leave the floor. The small number printed in the corner of the price tag tells you which step you are looking at, and that number is more reliable than any secret markdown-day list.

The famous day-of-week schedule is useful but overstated. Target has never officially confirmed it, the company's own PR team has publicly pushed back on the viral chart, and longtime employees say the rhythm has gotten looser over the years. This guide separates the parts of the Target clearance schedule you can actually bank on — the markdown ladder, the tag number, the holiday pattern — from the folklore, and gives you a buy-or-wait rule for every stop on the ladder.

How the Target Clearance Schedule Works by Day

The widely shared chart goes like this. Monday: electronics, kids' clothing, books, baby, stationery. Tuesday: women's clothing, pets, grocery. Wednesday: men's clothing, health and beauty, diapers, lawn and garden, furniture. Thursday: housewares, lingerie, shoes, toys, sporting goods, home decor, luggage. Friday: auto, cosmetics, hardware, jewelry. Routine markdowns do not generally happen on weekends.

Use it as a starting point, not a timetable. Shoppers who have asked store employees report that some stores used to keep set days but have grown more flexible, and one employee put it bluntly that it depends on shipment schedules and inventory needs. Target's PR team has also pushed back on the viral claims, telling Truth or Fiction that markdown timing cannot be read off a chart. The practical move: on your first visit, ask a team member in your department when clearance prices typically drop — toy and electronics staff usually know their own rhythm — and plan your trips around that answer, not the Pinterest chart.

One more timing note: clearance drops tend to land early in the morning on each department's markdown day, since checking the clearance list is one of the first morning tasks. Showing up when the store opens gives you first pick of newly marked items.

The Target Clearance Markdown Ladder: 30%, 50%, 70%

Almost all Target clearance walks the same ladder. Items start at about 30% off, drop to 50% after a week or two if stock remains, and fall to 70% a few weeks later. After that, whatever is left gets sent to salvage — the 70% tier is usually your last shot at an item.

Speed varies by season and store. In practice most items see price reductions every one to two weeks, and some store districts run a week or two ahead of their neighbors, so a deal spotted at one Target may drop further at the store across town. If an item is still at 30% and the shelf is full, another markdown is very likely coming. If it is at 70% with only odd sizes left, buy it or walk away — it is not getting cheaper.

The corner number on the tag shows the current step: 30, 50, or 70 percent off the original price. That is the single most trustworthy piece of information on the tag, and it is worth a glance before every clearance purchase.

Reading the Tag: The Cents Code Is Mostly Folklore

The most repeated secret in Target deal lore is the cents code: prices ending in $0.06 or $0.08 mean more markdowns are coming, while prices ending in $0.04 are at their final price. Some versions add that red stickers mean further markdowns are possible and yellow stickers mark the final price.

Here is the honest version: Target has denied the cents code works. A senior PR specialist told Truth or Fiction directly that the ending digit is determined by several factors, including the original price and the discount applied, and that it is not possible to determine the final markdown or timing of a price change from the item's current price. Shoppers who have tested the code across stores agree it is not universal — it varies by store and region.

What to do instead: scan the barcode with the Target app before you decide. Shelf tags sometimes lag behind system prices, and the app shows you what you would actually pay at the register. If the scan shows a lower price than the tag, that is real money the folklore would have made you leave on the table.

Holiday Clearance: The 3-3-2 Rule

Holiday clearance follows its own faster rhythm. For most holidays (everything except Christmas), the pattern is roughly 3-3-2: 50% off for the first three days after the holiday, 75% for the next three, and 90% for the final two days.

Christmas is its own animal, and the timing shifts year to year, so treat past dates as a guide rather than a promise. Last season, holiday items sat at 30% off on December 22, dropped to 50% on December 26 and held through early January, fell to 70% on January 4, and hit 90% on January 7. In earlier years Target had already reached 90% by December 30 — the pattern keeps drifting later, so watch your own store instead of counting down to a fixed date.

Food clearance moves on a slower ladder than non-food — expect holiday candy and snacks to trail the decor discounts by a step — and toy clearance runs on its own calendar, starting around December 26 and stretching into mid-January at 30% to 70% off.

When to Buy and When to Wait

Put the ladder to work with a simple rule. At 30% off, buy only what you needed anyway. Shelves are still full and another markdown is almost certain, so this step is for items you would have bought at full price. At 50% off, buy the things you have been watching. Popular sizes and colors usually sell through at this stage. At 70% off, take what is left or leave it. This is where you stockpile consumables you know you will use — plain gift wrap, neutral pillows, kids' basics, storage bins — because the next step is salvage, not a deeper cut.

The real decision is always stock risk versus markdown risk. Waiting for 70% saves the most money but only works if the item survives; a size-medium sweater you love is a buy at 50%, while a roll of wrapping paper nobody wants is a wait. When in doubt, remember that clearance stock never gets restocked — every day of waiting is a small gamble.

And if you bought something at a regular price just before it dropped, Target will refund the difference if the price falls at Target within 14 days of purchase — the same store, Target.com, or the Target app. Clearance items are excluded from adjustments, and Target stopped matching competitors' prices in July 2025, so the adjustment only covers Target's own price drops. If price adjustments are your thing, our guide on how to get a price adjustment after a price drop covers the full playbook. For the other half of the American big-box duo, see Walmart clearance secrets, and to sharpen your eye before any big sale, read how to spot fake discounts.

Outside the US: Adapting the Playbook

One important caveat: Target is a US-only chain. The Canadian stores closed in 2015, so this entire schedule only works if you are shopping in the US.

The playbook still travels. Whatever store you shop, learn its tag system, scan barcodes with the store app to catch tags that lag the system price, and treat the first markdown tier as the signal that a deeper one may be coming. If you are outside the US, you can watch the same kind of movement — open-box, sales and lightning deals — on WarehouseWatcher's US deals, Canada deals and UK deals feeds.