Between summer sales, winter sales, and even Black Friday, it’s difficult to know when to get the best deals. Because yes, these promotional periods are not all equal: for televisions, computers or even cameras, one of them is much more advantageous than the others.
Some of us wait for them all year, watching for the best possible deals. Approximately every four to five months, i.e. in January, July and November, the sales make a comeback: almost all the brands follow the movement and offer slashed prices, both in fashion and beauty, as well as decoration, tech, or even food. Especially with inflation and the decline in purchasing power in recent years, a large majority of French people are waiting for these opportunities to get good deals. But not all of these promotional periods are equal in terms of price reductions.
Contrary to what one might think, the discounts are not the same during summer sales, winter sales, or the Black Friday period. In order to determine which time of year is the most advantageous for shopping, the Idealo France comparator calculated the price difference for each product category, between the main promotional periods and the annual average price. As a result, on the figures recorded between 2023 and 2025, a winner clearly stands out, especially for high-tech items and fashion.
Thus, over the last three years, it is the winter sales which have established themselves as the best time to get good deals, well ahead of the summer sales and the Black Month period (which includes all the promotions around Black Friday, generally spread over the month of November). We especially notice this on products such as speakers for example, whose price falls on average by 11% during this period, compared to only 1% during the summer sales. And during Black Friday, prices increase by up to 2%, contrary to the shock promotions that brands announce. This means that a speaker sold at 526 euros throughout the year will cost around 468 euros in January, compared to 520 euros in July, and 536 euros in November.
SSD drives, drones, televisions, laptops, hybrid cameras and even computer keyboards are all products that are better to buy during the winter sales than during other promotional periods: all experience a price drop at this time, much greater than during the summer. And almost all of them see their prices increase on Black Friday compared to the annual average. It is for drones that the difference is most obvious: prices decrease by 6% on average in winter, while they stagnate in summer (0%) and climb in November (+9%). Concretely, a drone which is worth on average 790 euros over the year, will cost the same price during the summer sales. On Black Friday, it will be even more expensive: 860 euros! While during the winter sales, it will only be worth 742 euros. Aside from tech, Idealo also notes that running shoes and sneakers, as well as stoves and fireplaces, are among the categories that drop the most during winter sales.
You will have understood, to equip yourself in fashion or tech, it is better to favor the winter sales, which will take place this year between January 7 and February 3, 2026. But even during this period, the real reductions seem far from the -50 or -70% displayed by the distributors.
