When Does Walmart Christmas Clearance Start in 2026?

Walmart has not published a 2026 Christmas clearance start date, and the only date the company has confirmed is the one that sets the floor: US stores are closed all day on Christmas, Friday, December 25, 2026, so in-store holiday clearance cannot begin before stores reopen on Saturday, December 26. Every specific post-Christmas date and percentage circulating right now is a forecast built from past seasons, not a Walmart commitment. That distinction matters if you are planning a trip or a budget.

Walmart's October 2026 holiday announcements covered its pre-Christmas shopping events only, so the markdown calendar readers are searching for does not exist as a published document — and the practical answer is to plan around the December 26 reopening and the way clearance behaves in the days after it.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 13, 2026.

The one confirmed date on the calendar

Walmart said in its October 2026 holiday announcement that its US stores will be closed all day on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. Stores reopen Saturday, December 26. That gives you a hard boundary rather than a prediction.

Whatever a given store does with its leftover seasonal stock, nobody is walking through the doors to buy it on December 25. If you are mapping out a week off work, December 26 is the first day an in-store clearance trip is even possible. Treat any earlier in-store date you see quoted as a guess about pre-Christmas markdowns, which are a different thing from clearance.

Why Walmart has not published a markdown schedule

Walmart's corporate holiday communications this fall described its pre-Christmas shopping events and nothing after December 25. There is no company-issued clearance calendar for the post-Christmas period. So the step-down charts you will find elsewhere — 50% off on one date, 75% on another, 90% in January — are projections drawn from what shoppers observed in previous years.

They may turn out close. They are not a promise from the retailer, and no one is obligated to honor them. The practical consequence: do not drive across town because a date on a chart says the 75% day has arrived.

Check your own store's shelves before you commit to a trip.

Deeper discount or better selection — you only get one

The trade-off is the real decision here, and it is unavoidable. According to a ConsumerAffairs analysis of post-Christmas shopping, the first window after Christmas offers the strongest selection at moderate markdowns of roughly 25–50%, while holding out for the deepest cuts means shopping what is left over after everyone else has picked through it. Which side you want depends on what you are buying: There is no strategy that gets you both.

Decide before you go which one you are optimizing for.

• Replacing something specific — a tree, a particular ornament set, a size or color — favors going early, while the item still exists.
• Buying generic supplies you will use next year, like wrapping paper, gift bags, lights, or plain bows, favors waiting.
• Buying a gift for a specific person favors going early; the deepest-discount shelves are whatever nobody wanted.

How to plan the trip without guessing

A few steps keep this grounded in what your store is actually doing rather than what a chart says it should be doing:

• Check Walmart.com and the Walmart app for the item first — online holiday clearance runs on its own inventory and its own timing, separate from what your local store has marked down.
• Call or visit your nearest store on December 26 rather than assuming all locations moved at once.
• Note the actual percentages you see on the shelf tags, so you can judge whether a later trip is worth it.
• Keep the receipt and check the return window on anything you buy on clearance before you buy it, since clearance and final-sale policies are not the same thing everywhere.
• Set a spending cap before you walk in. A steep percentage off is not a saving if the item was never on your list.

What to expect between late December and January

The gap between "clearance started" and "clearance is cheapest" is the part most shoppers underestimate. Historically those are separate moments roughly two weeks apart, which means a single trip on December 26 is unlikely to be the lowest price of the season, and a single trip in January is unlikely to find a full shelf. If the category matters to you, two short trips beat one long one: a selection trip in the first days after Christmas, and a cleanup trip once the remaining stock has been cut further.

Bring a list to both, and be willing to come home empty-handed from the second.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Walmart Christmas clearance start before December 25, 2026?

In-store holiday clearance cannot begin on Christmas Day itself, because Walmart has confirmed its US stores are closed all day on Friday, December 25, 2026. Any pre-Christmas markdowns you see are separate holiday sale events, not post-Christmas clearance.

Is online clearance the same as in-store clearance?

No. Walmart.com runs its own holiday clearance on separate inventory, so an item marked down online may be full price in your store, and the reverse happens too. Check both before deciding where to buy.

Should I wait for 90% off?

Only if you are buying generic, reusable supplies rather than a specific item. Selection thins sharply at the deepest discount levels, so waiting trades near-certainty of finding something for the chance of paying very little for whatever remains.