Winter sales have started in Luxembourg and the Greater Region

Luxembourg's winter sales began on 2 January and will run until 25 January, promising a wide range of discounts and promotions in shops and online. This time of year attracts both local shoppers and visitors from neighbouring regions, but amid the lucrative offers, consumers are warned about possible tricks. For example, the Guichet.lu website recalls illegal practices such as fictitious discounts, where "promotional" prices are the same as regular prices, or insufficiently transparent discount labelling.

In France, winter discounts in the communes of Lorraine started at the same time as Luxembourg, thanks to an exemption allowing these regions to start earlier than the main part of the country. Their sales will continue until 29 January, giving local retailers an extra advantage in competing with Luxembourg.

Belgium will start its sale a day later, on 3 January, and end it on 31 January. This gives Belgian shoppers a little more time to hunt for bargains.

In Germany, by contrast, there are no fixed sale dates. The regulations defining their periods have been cancelled due to the active development of online shopping. Nevertheless, traditionally in the country you can find plenty of promotions from the end of December to the end of January.

While shoppers are enjoying the winter discounts, the dates of the summer sales in Luxembourg are already known: they will take place from 27 June to 26 July and will include an extra day off, which will surely be a pleasant bonus for shopaholics.