When is the Next winter sale and how to get the first VIP slots

Next never participates in Black Friday sales but its Boxing Day sales are legendary. People have been known to queue through the night outside the Bullring store to get the best bargains straight after Christmas.

With at least 50% off womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and homeware, it's a good way to stock up on birthday presents, or even gifts for next Christmas if you're very organised. However, this stopped in 2022, when Next bosses announced they were giving their staff an extended Christmas break by remaining closed on Boxing Day.

Instead, the winter sale began on December 27. You could still get the bargains online from December 26. But you don't necessarily have to queue outside the store to get the best bargains. And that's because Next offers VIP sale slots ahead of Christmas to its most loyal customers.

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So, when will the VIP sale slots open? Next bosses like to keep this under wraps until just before the event begins. However, you can get a good idea on what's likely to happen by looking at previous years.

Last year, invites were sent on December 17 and the VIP sale started December 21. In 2022, people got their VIP invites on December 18. As this has been a leap year, the dates might vary slightly.

According to money-saving website playpennies, the key is to be proactive in the sales. A spokesman said on the website: "The golden rule here is do NOT wait for Next to email or text you with an invite. By that time all the savvy shoppers will have their slot already booked.

"Use our sales calendar and around 9am, 3-4 days before the sale starts, Next will release their VIP slots. Pick the earliest slot available and you'll get an email confirming that straight away."

How to get a Next VIP sale slot

To secure an early bird VIP sale slot, you must have a Next Credit Account with at least £250 credit available at the time of VIP sale. Make sure your email address is up to date and set to receive promotional emails and that you've placed and kept an order from the current season in order to qualify.

You can also take out a Next Unlimited plan which gives you 12 months of free deliveries for £22.50. Next pledges to give you next day service if you place your order before 10pm.