UNIQLO is my all-time favourite clothing store – and I’m sure the same can be said for many others.
When compared against other fashion retailers in a similar price range, there’s pretty much no competition when it comes to quality – UNIQLO wins by a mile.
As a testament to UNIQLO’s quality, I’ve been wearing some of their basic t-shirts for about 6 years now – and there are no signs of defects by any means.
No discolouration, no holes, no loose threads, no wrinkling of the collar or seams.
Unless you saw the thoroughly washed-out labels on the inside of the t-shirts, you probably wouldn’t be able to guess that they’re 6 years old.
In contrast, several t-shirts that I’ve owned from other retailers lasted no more than a year or two before they started wrinkling.
With great quality and great prices, UNIQLO expanded its territory in my wardrobe – making up about 70~80% of all my clothes now.
Even though UNIQLO’s clothes are considerably affordable, I wondered if I could get them at even lower prices.
And, well, I did – over the past 2 years, I’ve managed to shop at UNIQLO extensively without paying the full price for an item.
In this post, I’m going to share with you 3 tips to help you save money the next time you shop at UNIQLO.
Disclaimer: This is (unfortunately) NOT a sponsored post. The purpose of this post is simply to share the tips I learned as a former part-timer. I receive no benefit or commission from UNIQLO for writing this post.
1: Wait For Limited Offers
If you’re an avid UNIQLO shopper, you’ll know what this refers to.
To encourage sales, UNIQLO launches periodic sales on their products. These are referred to as Limited Offers (LOs) and usually occur weekly.
From my experience, most tops and bottoms from UNIQLO’s catalog will go on LO at some point in time and cycle through.
Meaning to say that if an item went on LO but you missed it, there’s a chance that it will be back on LO again in the future.
This is especially so for men’s clothes.
Not only is the men’s catalog smaller than the women’s, but UNIQLO’s selection of men’s clothing is typically less seasonal than the women’s.
As a result, most of the men’s clothes will probably go on LO, and it’s only a matter of time until the same item is back on LO again if you happen to miss the sale.
So if you’re not in a rush to get a particular piece of clothing, waiting for it to be on LO can help you save money, especially if you’re buying multiple pieces of the item.
Since it’s not possible to know which items will be on LO ahead of time, you’ll need to check every week to see if the items you want are on LO.
2: Go Through The Sale Section
This is different from LO.
When items are on LO, the price tag on the item itself is not changed – it still shows its usual price. Instead, the label on the shelf says “Limited Offer”, and states the offer price accordingly.
There is a different set of shelves with labels that say “Sale” and the corresponding price.
These shelf labels may also state the name of the item on sale.
These are called Markdown (MD) items and are usually clearance items such as out-of-season items or old stock.
These items tend to have red price labels pasted over their original price on their price tags (though not always).
But if you’ve gone through the sale section of UNIQLO before, you’ve probably found yourself confused multiple times.
Sometimes, an item can appear to be on MD and at its regular price at the same time.
That is, there is a shelf full of this item selling at U.P. and another pile of this same item at the sale section, selling way below its U.P.
To customers who are unaware, this makes no sense because they appear to be the same item.
However, this simply means that the item on sale is an old stock that is on clearance, while the item that is at U.P is a new stock.
But at the end of the day, they are the same item.
Granted, it’s possible that some customers simply misplaced the item. But if you see the red sticker on the price tag, then you know it’s definitely an MD item.
There is no difference between the MD item and the regular item – other than the fact that one was manufactured earlier. But you probably couldn’t tell anyway.
I’ve snagged some incredible deals ever since I found out about this:
- Ultra Stretch Skinny Fit Jeans @ $9.90 (U.P. $59.90)
- Ultra Light Kando Pants @ $9.90 (U.P. $49.90)
- Dry Pique Polo T-shirt @ $9.90 (U.P. $29.90)
So if there’s an item you’re thinking of buying, be sure to check the sale section first to see if it’s on MD – you could get it at a great discount!
Do note that MD items tend to be limited in colours and sizes, and different stores may have different items on MD due to their different inventory levels.
Also, since MD items are usually old items, you won’t be able to find any newly launched items here, though they may become MD items after a while.
If you’re on a hunt for the best deals, it may be worthwhile to visit every UNIQLO store you come across.
3: Use The Free UNIQLO App
The final tip is to use the UNIQLO app.
It’s completely free to download and register as a member, and the app doubles as an online store.
As a member, you can earn and redeem vouchers that can be used either in-store or online:
- $5 Welcome voucher (in-stores only)
- $5 Birthday voucher (1x in-store & 1x online)
- Scan to win voucher (varying amounts, in-stores only)
Note that all vouchers require minimum spending of $60 on a single receipt before the use of the voucher.
Scan to win refers to the UNIQLO loyalty program, and this is how it works:
- Download the UNIQLO app and create/link your online account
- Open the app and go to “Membership” to let the cashier scan your membership barcode when paying in-stores
- Every $20 spent in-stores (total amount/day, can be spread over multiple transactions) earns 1 chance to win a voucher, chances will be credited the following day
- Under “Membership”, click on “Scan to win” to see the number of chances you have
- Follow the instructions and stand a chance to win vouchers
On top of earning and redeeming vouchers, you can also use the UNIQLO app to check what items are on LO that week.
If you’re not able to visit a physical UNIQLO store during the LO period, you can always choose to buy it online – there’s free shipping for orders above $60.
Alternatively, you can choose to “click & collect”, which basically means in-store pickup.
Simply choose “click & collect” as the delivery method and select the UNIQLO store you wish to pick your item up from.
To summarise,
You can save money at UNIQLO by:
- Waiting For Limited Offers
- Checking The Sale Section
- Using The Free App
These 3 tips have helped me save hundreds of dollars at UNIQLO, and probably definitely a lot more to come.
Regardless of what you’re looking to buy at UNIQLO, there’s probably a way to avoid paying the full price for it.
If you found these tips useful, share them with someone who also loves UNIQLO!
If you’ve tried these tips, I’d love to know some of the best deals you managed to snag – share them in the comments below!