Clearance prices fall in steps rather than continuously, and the timing of those steps is decided before the season ends. The schedule is driven by space and cash, not by what shoppers do.
Floor space is the scarce resource
A shop floor holds a fixed area, and every square metre occupied by last season's goods is unavailable to the next range that is already in transit.
The cost of holding old stock is therefore not just storage but the sales the replacement range cannot make.
Markdown schedules exist to clear that space by a target date, which is fixed by the arrival of the incoming range rather than by how the clearance is selling.
Discounts step down at planned intervals
A typical sequence begins with a modest reduction, moves to a deeper cut after a set period, then to a final level intended to clear whatever remains.
Each step is planned in advance with expected sell-through at each level, so the retailer knows roughly how much will remain when the next reduction lands.
The steps are spaced far enough apart to capture shoppers willing to pay more before conceding the deeper price, which is the whole point of stepping rather than cutting once.
Selection collapses faster than price
The most desirable items sell first, at the earliest and shallowest discount. What survives to the deepest reduction is what nobody wanted at the higher price.
In clothing this shows up as remaining sizes clustering at the extremes of the range, and colours that did not sell.
So waiting improves the price and worsens the choice at the same time, and the two move against each other on a predictable curve.
Remaining stock is consolidated away
Once a clearance reaches its final level, unsold goods are often gathered from many branches into a smaller number of outlet locations or sold in bulk to liquidators.
That consolidation removes the item from the ordinary shelf abruptly, so the final discount can vanish without ever reaching its lowest advertised level in your store.
Online clearance behaves similarly, with remaining stock disappearing from the site rather than being reduced again.
Some categories never reach deep clearance
Goods that keep across years, such as plain homeware or basic apparel, are held for the following season instead of cleared, because storage costs less than the lost margin.
Dated seasonal goods have no such option and must be cleared, which is where the largest reductions concentrate.
Recognising which category an item falls into predicts whether waiting will be rewarded, and prevents waiting on stock that was never going to be discounted at all.