Americans tend to do most of their shopping during just a couple days of the week — and that’s a big mistake if they want to save money.
The amount of money Americans spend in stores, restaurants, gas stations and online depends heavily on the day of the week. Americans tend to spend the most — an average of $76 a day — on Saturdays, followed by Fridays ($73). That’s nearly 40 percent more than they spend on Mondays or Tuesdays, which are the days of the week that Americans tend to spend the least, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Doing the majority of your shopping on Fridays and Saturdays does have some advantages. It’s often more convenient for the 9-to-5 set to shop on a Friday evening or Saturday. And there are some items, including accessories and books, that tend to be more deeply discounted on Fridays or Saturdays, according to data from Savings.com.
Still, experts say you’re missing out on a lot of deals — not to mention being forced to choose from picked-through merchandise — by concentrating your spending on Fridays and Saturdays.
Savings.com crunched data for MarketWatch to examine when the best sales were — and it turns out that during the week, everything from dining out to clothing to groceries is cheaper than average — and there’s a better selection, according to Meghan Heffernan, a spokesperson for Savings.com. But that’s not when consumers buy these items. Here are ways to save on common purchases:
Groceries
Saturday (followed by Friday and Sunday) is by far the most popular day to do grocery shopping in the US. Roughly 41 million shoppers hit grocery stores on that day, compared with just 30 million who shop on Wednesdays. Turns out, that may be a costly mistake. “Wednesday is the day that most stores begin their weekly discount and coupon promotions,” explains Heffernan. Plus, many grocery stores tend to get big shipments early in the week, so shopping on a Wednesday might offer you the best and freshest selection, says Mark Castro, a spokesperson for DealNews.com.
“Avid couponers will hit the stores as soon as the circulars hit on Wednesday, and stock up on items that are the best deal, therefore limiting quantities,” says Heffernan.
Clothing
Ask any clothing retailer and they’ll likely tell you Saturday is when they get the most foot traffic in their stores. But Heffernan says that “in general, the best discounts on clothing begin on Wednesday and Thursday as retailers roll out their weekend sales — this is true both online and in store.” So while you can still find deals on weekends, Castro points out that the merchandise is going to be a lot more picked through then, which means you might not be able to get the sale item you want at the price you want. If you can’t make it to the store, Heffernan says that Wednesdays and Thursdays are also the best days to get deals on clothing online.
Restaurants
According to Nielsen, Saturday is the most popular night to eat out (33 percent of Americans say that’s their favorite night to eat out), followed by Friday (22 percent). But the reality is that the best dining out deals (and fewer crowds) are on Tuesdays. “Tuesdays are notoriously the slowest days for restaurants, so they have come up with clever marketing ploys to lure customers in,” says Heffernan. “Half-off bottles of wine, free appetizers, and ‘kids eat free’ are amongst some of the regular promotions you can find on a Tuesday.” In short: Save the home cooking for a Saturday night.
Entertainment
Thanks to the 9-to-5 grind, most people engage in their entertainment — be it going to the movies, hitting the links or chilling out at the spa — on the weekends. But that’s not when the deals are. “In an attempt to boost sales, they [a lot of leisure-focused businesses] offer their best promotions on Wednesdays to try to lure customers,” says Heffernan. “If you’re lucky enough to sneak away during the work week, you’ll not only get a discount, but will also likely have the place to yourself.” Even if you can’t make it out on a Wednesday, you may be able to find other weeknight deals: Regal Cinemas, for example, offers $2 candy every Monday and $2 popcorn every Tuesday; AMC Theaters offers discounted tickets to seniors and students on Tuesdays and Thursdays, respectively; and Cinemark offers discounted tickets for parties of three or more on Mondays.
This article originally appeared on Marketwatch.com.