What should an after-Christmas sales email do?
An after-Christmas sales email turns the quiet week between 26 December and early January into revenue: it announces your Boxing Day or January sale, helps customers with returns and exchanges, and clears winter stock before it goes stale. The best ones are sent on each market's real sale date, to a segment that actually wants a discount, with a subject line that states the offer plainly.
This guide explains how the 2026–27 sales are timed in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany, and gives you a seven-email sequence with send dates, a returns and exchange email template, the segments that make clearance profitable, and 20 subject lines you can adapt.
Key takeaways
- Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December 2026 in the UK; many retailers open their sale online on 24 or 25 December, so schedule your launch email before you close for Christmas.
- France's soldes d'hiver start in early January, on the official date set by the government; Italy's saldi start on the dates set by each region; Spain's rebajas traditionally start in early January, around Epiphany.
- Returns season is a sales opportunity: an exchange-first email with a clear deadline keeps the revenue that a refund would lose.
- Segment before you discount: VIPs get early access, returners get exchange offers, full-price buyers get fewer sale emails.
- In the EU, any "was" price in a sale email must be the lowest price you charged in the previous 30 days.
When do the after-Christmas sales start in each market?
The after-Christmas sales start on 26 December in the UK, but in continental Europe they follow national or regional rules, so one pan-European send date will be wrong for most of your list. The table below shows when each market's sale usually starts and the legal status that decides what you can write in the email.
| Market | Sale event | 2026–27 timing | Legal status | Send the launch email |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Boxing Day sales | Saturday 26 December 2026 (bank holiday moved to Monday 28 December); many sales open online 24–25 December | No legal sale period; any retailer can discount any day | Evening of 25 December or 06:00 on 26 December |
| France | Soldes d'hiver | Early January, on the official start date set by the government | Set by the authorities; the word "soldes" is only allowed during the official period, online and in store | On the official start date |
| Italy | Saldi invernali | Early January, on the dates set by each region; duration and end date also set by each region | Regional rules; some regions restrict promotional sales in the period before the saldi | Morning of the start date in each region |
| Spain | Rebajas de enero | Traditionally early January, around Epiphany (6 January) | Liberalised: each retailer chooses its dates, but must show the original price | On the start date you choose, just after Epiphany |
| Portugal | Saldos de inverno | Each retailer chooses its own dates, often from just after Christmas or early January | Retailers choose their periods within the limits set by law and declare them to ASAE in advance | On the first day of your declared period |
| Germany | Winterschlussverkauf (WSV) | No fixed date; traditionally in late January, and many shops start reducing prices right after Christmas | No longer a legal event; now an informal tradition | Right after Christmas for early markdowns, late January for the WSV wave |
Who sets the date differs by market: in France it is the government, in Italy each region, and in Portugal, Spain, Germany and the UK the retailer itself.
Which emails belong in an after-Christmas sales sequence?
A complete after-Christmas sequence has seven emails, from VIP early access before Christmas to a New Year transition once the sale ends. You do not need all seven; a small shop can run four (launch, returns, second markdown, last chance). The dates below use the UK calendar; shift them to each market's start date from the table above.
| # | When to send (UK example) | Who receives it | Goal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VIP early access | 23–24 December | Top customers by spend or order count | Reward loyalty, sell the best sizes first |
| 2 | Sale launch | 25 December evening or 26 December morning | All contacts who agreed to receive marketing emails | Announce the offer, dates and best categories |
| 3 | Returns and exchanges | 27–29 December | Customers who ordered between November and Christmas | Turn refunds into exchanges, reduce support tickets |
| 4 | "Treat yourself" / gift-card nudge | 29–31 December | Gift recipients and new subscribers | Convert Christmas money and gift cards into orders |
| 5 | Second markdown | 2–5 January (France: a couple of weeks into the soldes) | Clickers who did not buy | Re-engage with deeper reductions on remaining stock |
| 6 | Last chance | 48 hours before the sale ends | Anyone who opened a sale email | Create urgency with a real deadline |
| 7 | New Year transition | First week after the sale | Whole list | Move from discount to new collection or content |
Emails 3 and 6 work best as automations triggered by order date and sale end date. Set them up once with automated emails and they run while your team is off between Christmas and New Year. For the last-chance email, a countdown timer makes the deadline visible, as long as the deadline is real.
For email 7, do not reuse the sale template: the New Year newsletter is the moment to stop discounting and give subscribers a reason to open without a percentage in the subject line.
How should you write a returns and exchange email after Christmas?
A post-Christmas returns email should tell customers the exact deadline, explain the steps in three lines, and offer an exchange before a refund. Returns pile up in early January, and every customer who swaps a size instead of asking for a refund is revenue you keep.
What the law requires and what is goodwill
- Online orders, UK and EU: customers have 14 days from delivery to cancel without giving a reason (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 in the UK, Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU in the EU), then 14 days to send the goods back.
- In-store purchases: there is no legal right to return a non-faulty item bought in a shop. A Christmas returns window is a voluntary policy, so state its end date precisely.
- Extended Christmas returns: many retailers accept gifts bought from November until mid-January. If you offer this, say it in the email: it reassures gift buyers and gift recipients.
A returns email structure that works
- Subject line with the deadline: "Wrong size? Exchange free until 15 January".
- One sentence of reassurance: the gift receipt or order number is all they need.
- Three steps: request online, print or show the label, drop off.
- Exchange first: a button for "Exchange for another size or colour" above the refund link.
- A light sale mention: "If you are exchanging, the January sale is on" with two or three relevant categories, not the whole catalogue.
Keep the service part and the sales part balanced. A returns notice sent to every buyer is a service message, but once it carries a promotional offer it becomes marketing, so send it only to contacts who agreed to receive marketing emails, or keep the sale mention out of the version you send to everyone else.
Gift cards deserve one line in this email too: "Got a gift card? It works on sale items" converts recipients who would otherwise wait months to spend it.
The returner, VIP and bargain-hunter groups in this guide take a few minutes to build with Mailpro™ email segmentation: filter contacts on the fields you hold, such as last order date, total spend, opens and clicks, then reuse each segment for the whole January sequence.
How do you segment a clearance campaign?
Segment a clearance campaign by buying behaviour, not just by demographics: the same 40% discount is a reward for one group, a habit-forming mistake for another, and spam for a third. Use the segments below as a starting point and adapt them to the data you already collect.
| Segment | How to identify it | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| VIP customers | Top 10% by spend in the last 12 months, or 3+ orders | Early access 24–48 hours before the public sale, no extra discount needed |
| Christmas gift buyers | Ordered in November–December, items shipped to another address or with gift wrap | "Now it's your turn": self-purchase categories, not more gifts |
| Recent returners | Return or exchange request since 26 December | Exchange suggestions in the same category and size |
| Sale-only shoppers | Every past order used a discount code or sale price | Full sequence: launch, second markdown, last chance |
| Full-price loyalists | Regular orders, rarely or never on discount | One sale email at most, plus a new-collection preview in January |
| Category browsers | Clicked a category in December emails without ordering | Sale items from that category only |
| Inactive contacts | No open or click in 6–12 months | One re-engagement email, then stop; don't hurt deliverability in your busiest month |
Two stock-driven segments are worth adding when you clear inventory: customers whose past orders match the sizes you have left, and customers who bought the companion product (a coat buyer who did not take the matching scarf). For more ideas on structuring holiday lists, see our guide to holiday email segmentation for Christmas campaigns; the same rules apply after the 25th, with returns and gift recipients added.
A practical rule on frequency: sale-only shoppers can receive four or five emails between Boxing Day and the end of January; full-price loyalists should receive one or two. Sending the whole list everything is the fastest way to raise your unsubscribe rate in the month when inboxes are already full.
What subject lines work for Boxing Day and January sales emails?
The subject lines that work after Christmas state the offer, the date or the benefit in the first 40 characters, because many opens happen on mobile, where the end of a long subject line is cut off. Clever wordplay helps only after the offer is clear.
Boxing Day and sale launch
- Boxing Day sale: up to 50% off, starts now
- Our winter sale is live (and your size is still here)
- The sale you waited for starts now
- VIP early access: shop the sale before everyone else
- Christmas is over, the sale isn't
Returns, exchanges and gift cards
- Wrong size? Free exchanges until 15 January
- Returning a gift? Here's the fastest way
- Your gift card works on sale items too
- Swap it, don't ship it back: exchange in 2 minutes
Second markdown and clearance
- Now 60% off: final reductions on winter coats
- Last sizes left in [category]
- New markdowns added this morning
- Still thinking about it? It's cheaper now
Last chance
- 48 hours left: the winter sale ends Sunday
- Last day of the sale, last day of these prices
- Midnight tonight: the sale closes
Treat-yourself and New Year
- You've bought for everyone. Now it's your turn
- Spend your Christmas money on something you chose
- New year, new season: first look at spring
Pair every subject line with a preheader that adds the second piece of information, such as the end date, free returns or the number of items left. For the writing method behind these examples, read how to write effective email subject lines.
What pricing rules apply to sale emails in Europe?
In the EU, any price reduction you announce must be calculated from the lowest price you applied in the 30 days before the sale, under the Omnibus Directive (2019/2161) that amended the Price Indication Directive. "Was £80, now £40" only works if £80 was really charged; in the UK, misleading "was" prices are an unfair commercial practice under consumer protection law.
- France: only use the word "soldes" during the official period set by the government. Before that, write "promotions" or "offres".
- Italy: check whether your region bans promotional sales in the period before the saldi; a pre-sale "early access" email can count as one.
- Germany: the 30-day lowest-price rule is in §11 of the Preisangabenverordnung (PAngV), and it applies to WSV emails too.
- Portugal: the saldos you advertise must match the period you declared to ASAE.
- Everywhere: send sale emails only to contacts who agreed to receive marketing, and keep the unsubscribe link in every one.
Planning several markets in one list? Store each contact's country in a field, build one segment per market, and schedule each launch on its own date. Repeat the same structure in summer: our summer sales guide covers the July period. Before you press send, run through the holiday email mistakes to avoid, most of which apply to the January sale as well.
Frequently asked questions
When should I send my Boxing Day email?
Send your Boxing Day email on the evening of 25 December or early on 26 December. Many UK retailers open their sale online on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so a launch at 06:00 on the 26th is the latest sensible slot; VIP early access can go out on 23 or 24 December.
How many emails should an after-Christmas sale campaign include?
Most after-Christmas campaigns need four to seven emails: launch, returns and exchanges, a second markdown and a last-chance email at minimum, plus VIP early access, a gift-card nudge and a New Year transition if you have the stock and the audience. Send fewer to full-price customers.
Can I send a sales email in France before the soldes start?
Yes, but you cannot call it "soldes". Before the official start date a French email can announce "promotions" or invite subscribers to the sale ahead of time, without using the word "soldes" or selling at a loss, which is only allowed during the official sale period.
Is a returns email a marketing email?
A returns email is a service message if it only explains the policy and the steps. Once it promotes sale items or includes a discount, it is a marketing email and should only go to contacts who consented to marketing.
What is a good discount for a January clearance email?
There is no universal figure: most retail clearance emails start between 20% and 50% and deepen in a second markdown. What matters more is that the reference price is genuine (the lowest price of the last 30 days in the EU) and that each segment gets the offer that fits its behaviour.
Mailpro and after-Christmas sales
Segment your January clearance before the first markdown
With Mailpro, build VIP, returner and bargain-hunter segments, schedule your Boxing Day-to-January sequence in advance and pick a design from 600+ templates. Hosted in Switzerland, GDPR-native and priced by sends, not contacts.
