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(NEXSTAR) – When browsing the aisles at T.J.Maxx, shoppers are often faced with the same nagging question: “Do I have room in my wardrobe for another diaphanous beach cover-up?”
Moments later, some of those same shoppers might also be asking themselves a different, less agonizing question — usually upon seeing the color-coded price tags.
“Do the colors of these tags mean anything?”
The answer to the latter question (and the initial one, assuming a complete lack of self-discipline when it comes to diaphanous cover-ups) is a resounding yes.
As most T.J.Maxx shoppers are well aware, the price tags on many items throughout the store are sometimes printed on purple or blue cardstock rather than the standard white (which indicates the original T.J.Maxx price). What’s more, some of the price tags are further marked down with red or yellow stickers.
The red and yellow markdown stickers clearly indicate different forms of additional discounts. But the blue or purple tags might be more of a mystery to casual T.J.Maxx shoppers.
“Blue price tags indicate coordinates; however, these items can be sold separately,” a representative for T.J.Maxx explained of the blue-tinged tags, which indicate that a matching piece may be available nearby. The purple tags, meanwhile, are only attached to items belonging to T.J.Maxx’s “The Runway” department, a higher-end collection featuring “European, contemporary and couture fashion,” according to T.J.Maxx.
Items with white, blue or purple tags can also be further discounted with red or yellow pricing stickers — red indicating “clearance” pricing and yellow indicating “final clearance” or “final markdown.”
Items with yellow tags will not be discounted any further, according to T.J.Maxx. And if such items “linger” for too long on the sales floor, they will eventually be “sold to a third party or donated to charitable organizations,” a representative told Nexstar.
“Only a very small percentage of merchandise from our stores goes unsold,” the rep added.
In other words, if shoppers at T.J.Maxx see yellow stickers (or multiple red stickers) on items they’re thinking about buying, it’s likely those items are nearing the cheapest they’ll ever be.
Here’s hoping you enjoy your newest beachy cover-up.
