A former Marks and Spencer employee has shared the best times to visit the store to find yellow sticker deals, saying early morning and late afternoon offer the best chances of securing discounts.
Katherine McPhillips, who worked in the bakery department during a summer break from university, said shoppers often visit just before closing time in search of reductions. However, she explained that evening staff are usually too busy with cleaning and organising to apply yellow stickers during the final hours.
Best times for yellow sticker bargains
McPhillips said yellow stickers were more commonly applied during calmer periods with fewer customers, and that it was typically the overnight team distributing the reductions. She recommends visiting first thing in the morning, ideally at opening time, to find the finest offers.
She added that she prefers to visit her local M&S foodhall at 9am on her days off, and that she also frequently finds yellow stickers between 3pm and 5pm.
Late afternoon as a second window
McPhillips noted that late afternoon is the second optimal time to shop, as evening shift staff would commonly begin by applying yellow stickers to lunchtime products, including sandwiches and bakery items.
She also mentioned that managers would often instruct staff not to display yellow stickers if a crowd had formed waiting for them, as it could become chaotic. Customers waiting for stickers often obstructed aisles or disturbed staff, so it frequently was not worth the trouble.
Yellow sticker timings can differ between branches, so she suggests politely asking a staff member when they are not occupied, and allowing workers enough room to complete their duties if reductions are taking place.
