Next sale: how to get a vip priority slot in huge half price sale

Clothes shops have finally reopened again following the announcement that non-essential retailers were allowed to welcome shoppers back to the high street. Many experts predicted that shops

would be planning huge sales as they returned, in order to get rid of the excess stock from a lost season - and one store has a massive sales event up its sleeve. Next is set to launch a

half price sale this week, and some customers can get a special preview. Next sales have become legendary over the years as shoppers queue at the crack of dawn to get their hands on the best

bargains.  Shoppers will be pleased to know that the retailer has confirmed a huge sale will start on Thursday, July 2 - but some customers will be allowed to get early access.  The

discounts are said to be starting from 50 percent off, though previous sales have reached 70 percent off with clothes being hugely marked down.  The retailer also confirmed on Twitter that

the sale will be both online and in store, with the sales starting from 5am on Thursday.  READ MORE: T.M. LEWIN STORES CLOSE AMID HUGE MOVE TO ONLINE SHOPPING - FULL LIST   TO GET A VIP SLOT

YOU NEED TO:  * Have a Next credit account with at least £250 credit available. * Have received a copy of the Next Directory.  * Have placed and kept an order at least once in the last

year. * Have an up to date email address registered with Next, and be registered to receive sale and promotional emails. There is also usually a rule about having returned less than two

thirds of all items ordered, though the hotukdeals post suggested this may not be the case this year.  The priority time slots are restricted to one per customer but you can update your slot

at any time - though Next shoppers recommend grabbing the first slot you can get in order to find the best offers. Fans have already tried to sign up for their slots to see the sale before

everyone else, with some saying they had to wait for an email invitation link while others could access it from their account on the website.  “Got a slot at 4:30 on Tuesday but website is

playing up so will look later at what is on offer,” wrote one shopper on the hotukdeals post. “Only just got my confirmation email for slot (sic) normally they are immediate, what I have

managed to look at looked pretty cheap though, some with much more than 50 percent off.”   However, for shoppers hoping they could get in on the sale preview, it’s worth noting that the Next

credit account has a high interest rate of 23.9 percent APR.  Store cards should only be taken out if you know you can pay it off each month, else you could end up with huge debts.  Those

looking to hit the sales in person should check the opening times of their local stores, as though the sale begins at 5am, there’s no guarantees that your nearby shop will be open - though

the majority have reopened since the easing of the lockdown.  A quick look at the London Westfield store on the brand’s store locator shows that the opening times have now been updated to

5am for Thursday, and 6am for Friday and Saturday - suggesting the sale could be going on for a few days.  In fact, some fans have even suggested that the discounts will jump up after the

initial promotion, though this has not been confirmed.