French winter sales 2027: dates, rules and how to spot genuine bargains

The 2027 French winter sales ("soldes d'hiver") start on Wednesday January 6, 2027 at 8 am and end on Tuesday February 2, 2027, four weeks in total, in most of mainland France. The same dates apply to online shopping from French retailers. A few eastern départements and several overseas territories follow different dates.

In France, "soldes" are legally regulated sales periods, not just marketing banners. This guide covers the calendar, the rules retailers must follow, what is worth buying in January and a method to arrive at the sales already knowing which prices are genuinely low.

When are the French winter sales in 2027?

Sales dates are set by a ministerial order of 27 May 2019, under article L. 310-3 of the French Commercial Code. Winter sales start on the second Wednesday of January at 8 am, or on the first Wednesday when the second one falls after January 12. That is the case in 2027: the second Wednesday would be January 13, so the sales move forward to the 6th. Each period lasts four weeks.

Area	Rule	2027 winter sales
Mainland France (general case) and online sales	Second Wednesday of January, moved to the first if the second falls after the 12th	Wednesday January 6 (8 am) to Tuesday February 2, 2027
Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges	Early January, under the order's annex	Start a few days before the national date: check with the local prefecture
Guadeloupe	First Saturday of January	Territory-specific dates
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon	First Wednesday after January 15	Territory-specific dates
La Réunion	"Winter" sales in September (southern hemisphere season)	Territory-specific dates
Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin	First Saturday of May	Territory-specific dates

For overseas territories not listed here, check the official "Les dates des soldes" page on entreprises.gouv.fr, updated every year. For a look back at this year's sales, see our 2026 sales guide.

Do online sales follow the same dates?

Yes. For e-commerce and distance selling, sales dates are aligned with the national dates for physical retail, wherever the company is headquartered. A website based in Moselle therefore runs its sales on the national dates, not on its département's special dates.

In practice, many retailers launch "promotions", "member offers" or private sales before January 6. That is allowed, but they are not "soldes": the word is reserved for the legal periods, and those operations do not follow the same rules (notably, selling below cost is banned in principle but allowed during the official sales).

What rules must retailers follow?

• Existing stock only: only items paid for and offered for sale for at least one month before the sales start can be sold at sale prices. Retailers cannot restock specifically for the sales.
• Regulated reference price: the struck-through price must be the lowest price charged in the 30 days before the reduction (article L112-1-1 of the Consumer Code, in force since May 28, 2022, based on the EU Omnibus directive). See our guide to the 30-day rule.
• Selling below cost is allowed during the sales, whereas it is banned in principle the rest of the time (apart from exceptions set by law).
• Clear labelling of both the reference price and the reduced price.

Your rights as a shopper during the sales

• Legal guarantees apply in full: a faulty sale item must be repaired, replaced or refunded like any other. A "no returns, no exchanges" notice is unlawful for defective products.
• In store, exchanging a non-faulty item (wrong size, wrong colour) is not mandatory, unless the retailer commits to it on a sign or the receipt.
• Online, the 14-day withdrawal right applies, sales or not, apart from exceptions set by law.
• For an unresolved dispute, you can file a report on SignalConso, the French consumer protection authority's platform.

How to check that a sale discount is real

A big "-50%" says nothing about what you would have paid in November or December. Common traps:

• Black Friday falls outside the 30-day window. The reference price for sales starting January 6 is based on the previous 30 days, roughly from December 7. A product sold cheaper on November 27 can therefore show a January discount calculated from a higher price than its Black Friday price.
• A "recommended" price or a "seen elsewhere" price sometimes replaces the price the retailer actually charged: read what is struck through.
• Look-alike references: an older collection or a slightly different variant may be shown next to the current model.
• Extra costs (delivery, installation, paid returns) can eat into the discount.

The only reliable defence is to know the product's price before the sales, ideally over several weeks. For a full set of checks, see how to spot a fake discount.

What is worth buying in the winter sales?

A qualitative guide. It describes usual patterns, not guarantees: each product should be judged on its own price history.

Category	Why January can be good	What to watch
Winter fashion and shoes	The heart of the sales, with markdowns often deepening over the weeks	Sizes and colours go quickly
Household linen	January is traditionally "white month" ("mois du blanc") in France	Compare materials, not just prices
Large appliances	End-of-line and display models	Factor in delivery, installation and old-appliance collection (see when to buy home appliances)
Tech	Last year's models, unsold Christmas stock	Compare with the Black Friday price
Winter sports gear	Worth it for next season	Check the size or standard still suits you
Recent releases	Rarely on sale	Stock must be at least a month old to be discounted as "soldes"

First markdown or end of sales: when to buy?

A classic dilemma. The first week offers the widest choice, especially for sizes and popular models. Later markdowns can be deeper, but on thinner stock: nothing obliges retailers to cut prices further.

A practical rule: if the item is scarce or in high demand and the price already meets your target, buy early. If it is widely available (appliances, tech sold by several retailers), you can wait for a further markdown, as long as you keep tracking its price.

Prepare for the sales in December with price alerts

The best January deals are prepared before the holidays:

1. In early December, list what you want: specific items you would buy anyway (model, size, colour).
2. Note their prices, and for anything discounted on Black Friday, note that price too: it is your benchmark.
3. Set a target price for each item, below which buying becomes a genuine bargain.
4. Set up alerts so you are notified on the morning of January 6, rather than spending the day on shopping sites.
5. On the day, only buy what hits your target, and check the delivered price.

Doing this by hand for ten or so items means reopening every product page regularly for five weeks, logging prices in a spreadsheet and hoping you miss nothing on the first morning. Our price drop alert guide covers the options. If your January shopping follows holiday gifts, see also how to buy Christmas gifts for less.

Put it into practice: arrive at the sales with your reference prices

UniverTrack does the tracking for you: you paste a product link (Amazon, with its price history, Cdiscount, and other online stores on a best-effort basis), the price is checked automatically, a dated history builds up and you get an email when the price reaches your target.

1. Paste the link of each item into UniverTrack in December.
2. Set a target price based on the history recorded before the sales.
3. Get the alert and buy when the sale price genuinely falls below your target.

For the sales, where misleading discounts are the main risk, the Malin plan fits best: up to 50 products, fake-discount detection and an AI shopping assistant. If you are comparing the same item across several retailers, the Pro plan groups those offers on one product page. See all plans on the pricing page: each one starts with a 14-day free trial, no commitment.