9 Products on Deep Discount in January
CR's lab tests and shopping tips will help you find what you want and let you know what you might want to avoid
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With a little planning and patience, you may never have to pay full price for anything. Sales take place throughout the year, but some months and holidays are better for finding deep discounts on certain items. Coming on the heels of the holiday season, January tends to be a great time to find a good price on fitness equipment, from big investments like treadmills and ellipticals to fitness accessories like smartwatches and fitness trackers.
And if you happen to be in the market for new sheets, a soundbar, a wireless router, or a humidifier, January is the perfect time to keep an eye out for low prices. You may also see more sales around Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, especially when it comes to bigger purchases, such as mattresses and large appliances. But because January follows two months of heavy holiday sales, discounts tend to be a bit sparser overall. So if you’re looking for big savings on something other than what’s on this list, it may be better to hold off until a later date if you can. To learn more about the best time to buy other products, check out our calendar of deals.
Smartwatches
January is often a good time to start shopping around for a smartwatch, according to our data. Look for New Year’s resolution-related sales that are likely to crop up at many online retailers, and you can finally take the plunge on some high-tech jewelry without overspending.
You’ll want to make sure the smartwatch you choose is going to fit your lifestyle. First and foremost, it should be compatible with your smartphone. But do you want one that has its own network connectivity? How about a heart rate monitor? Or the ability to pay for purchases? You should also take into account things like size, battery life, and replacement bands.
Read CR’s buying guide to learn more, then check out our ratings to find the best smartwatch for you.
For those motivated to get more movement in the new year, we think the new Apple Watch SE 3 is the most capable version yet of Apple’s budget smartwatch. It offers nearly all the health and fitness features of the pricier Series version. And you can count on impressive battery life and a bright, durable display, too.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 is at a new low price at Walmart right now. It typically retails for closer to $300, but Walmart’s discount is the biggest we’ve seen. This is a sleek-looking and high-performing pick, particularly if you own a Galaxy phone, and its stylish design means you can feel comfortable wearing it just about anywhere. The Watch7 offers some of Samsung’s latest health, fitness, and safety features—including sleep apnea detection, swimming stroke analysis, and daily AI-enabled Sleep and Energy scores, which make it easier to keep tabs on basic health metrics. It also has more standard features, like automatic workout-tracking, heart rate and blood oxygen level monitoring, and heart rate variability tracking.
The Versa 4 is a great fit for fans of the Fitbit app who want a sleeker-looking smartwatch than the options of yore. You get a good-sized display and all the basics, like GPS-enabled workout tracking and heart rate monitoring. The new holistic Daily Readiness Score, which suggests when to ramp up your activity or take a break, is also handy.
Fitness Trackers
Much like smartwatches, fitness trackers are often discounted in January as retailers target shoppers with New Year’s resolutions that focus on health and wellness. Fitness trackers range from simple to sophisticated, with corresponding prices. Some simply count your steps while others use GPS to map your workouts, and many also measure your heart rate and can even monitor your sleeping patterns.
With so many different options, there’s sure to be a fitness tracker that fits your new lifestyle and your budget, especially if you find one on sale. Take a look at CR’s buying guide if you want a little more guidance to find the right tracker for you.
The Fitbit Charge line routinely features great general-purpose trackers, and the Charge 6 is no exception. It offers a 1.1-inch full-color display and a range of tools that help you stay on top of your health, everything from stress monitoring to an ECG (electrocardiogram) function that can alert you to irregular heart rhythms.
If you want a slim fitness tracker that keeps tabs on the basics—like your sleep, step count, heart rate—the Fitbit Inspire 3 is a good buy at this price. It also has a convenient 10-day claimed battery life.
Ellipticals
Elliptical exercisers are part stair climber, part cross-country ski machine. Unlike a treadmill, which allows you to move free-form, an elliptical limits your movement. That’s why it’s especially important to test out machines in a store before you buy one.
High-end ellipticals cost upward of $3,000, but you can get a good machine for less than half that price. More expensive machines are often heavier and have a larger footprint because of their beefier frames. The number of features also tends to increase with the price.
Our elliptical buying guide and elliptical ratings will help you select a machine with the quality and features you want. Once you’ve selected a model, you can shop around for the best discounts. As with treadmills, you’ll have the most luck scoring a deal at major retailers or buying directly from manufacturers.
The Sole E95S features a large, easy-to-read display, a motorized adjustable stride-length and ancillary incline, and resistance controls on the multigrip moving handgrips. The layout is easy to understand and intuitive. There’s a strong flywheel effect making it harder to accelerate and decelerate, but pedaling is comfortable, with smooth transitions around the elliptical path and good foot support throughout the pedaling cycle. Equipped with Bluetooth, this elliptical can communicate with the Sole Fitness App via a compatible mobile device. An included chest-strap heart rate monitor allows for convenient use of the two heart rate programs.
If you want a way to do cardio at home, exercising on an elliptical gets you an aerobic workout without the impact that comes with running. The Air Glide 14i is at a decent discount right now, and it’s CR Recommended for its above-average performance in our lab tests. This model got exemplary scores in our tests for construction, ease of use, and user safety. It’s also above average when it comes to ergonomics. It did fall short in terms of heart rate accuracy, but you can always wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker for more accurate readings if you want to track that.
Treadmills
Treadmills are the most popular workout machines in the U.S., and there’s an option for almost every budget and fitness goal. That can make choosing one complicated. While a top-of-the-line treadmill can cost $4,000 or more—our highest-rated machine comes in at $2,700—our recommended models start at just $1,500. If you’re looking to save a bit more, you can get a reasonably well-rated foldable treadmill for $1,000.
The key is to find a machine that’s durable, comfortable, and easy to use. Try one out in a store before making a purchase, and read our treadmill buying guide to familiarize yourself with the available options. To learn more about the ones we consider top notch, check out our treadmill ratings.
Look to online and big-box retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart and sporting goods stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods for sales on fitness equipment. And be sure to see whether manufacturers are offering other ways to save as well.
The highly rated Horizon Fitness 7.4AT is a folding treadmill with a reading shelf and quick control dials to rapidly change speed or incline. It has excellent ratings in all tests except user safety, where it still earns a score of very good. It comes with a heart rate monitor to connect directly to training programs and has built-in speakers and Bluetooth connectivity. There are occasional sales that garner an additional $100 off, if you’d prefer to wait for more savings.
The Bowflex BXT8J is one of the most budget-friendly folding treadmills in our ratings, but it still offers a ton of versatility for a wide range of different styles of exercise. Up to four users can track their progress over time with data stored on the treadmill itself. Although Bowflex heavily markets its JRNY exercise subscription app for access to on-demand workouts (you’ll have to pay a monthly fee for this), using it isn’t a requirement. The BXT8J also comes with 26 different workout programs, so you’ll have a lot of options.
With the ability to ramp the incline up to 14.8 percent, the 7.0AT is a good model to consider if you want to “hike” indoors. CR’s testing also showed very little to no wear during simulated six months of use, making it especially durable. Testers liked that the buttons were oversized for easy control. Although the 7.0AT doesn’t come with its own heart rate strap, it will pair to one you purchase separately and automatically respond to target heart rate zones by changing the incline or speed. And while it doesn’t come with the Sprint-8 high-intensity interval training program that the 7.4 AT has, you can still connect the 7.0 AT with third-party exercise subscription services.
Sheets
The new year is a chance to start fresh, and many retailers will hold white sales where they offer big discounts on bedding, including sheets and pillows. These winter sales, made famous by the department store owner John Wanamaker, have been used since the turn of the last century as a way to boost sales.
These sales provide a great chance to replace worn-out bedding. Check out our sheet buying guide to determine what material and thread count you should look for.
This Brooklinen set is at its typical 15 percent discount. It will fit a mattress up to 14 inches thick. Our testers note that these sheets don’t shrink as much as some other cotton sheets we tested. They earn above-average scores for both fit and shrinkage, which means that although they do tend to get smaller after washing, they don’t change all that much over time. Luxe Core sheets are on the softer side, based on our sensory test. Labels along each side that read “short side” and “long side” make clear which way to make a bed.
According to our sensory test, the Lands’ End Premium Supima Cotton Sheet Set is one of the softest in our ratings. Though you will experience some wrinkling, it still performs better than most natural cotton sheets in our wrinkling assessment. With an excellent fit for mattresses 14 inches thick and under, little to no shrinkage, and a very strong weave, it is a solid pick.
Soundbars
Whether you’re buying a new TV or you want to make the one you have sound better, soundbars offer a great upgrade option. They’re much easier to set up than traditional surround-sound systems with three or more speakers, and you can add more speakers to many models if you want to expand later.
January is a great time to save on these increasingly popular devices as retailers make room for new inventory. You may be able to find discounts at major retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart or member-exclusive deals at BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club.
Most soundbars are long, thin enclosures that are mounted on a wall or placed on a shelf above or below the TV. There are also pedestal-style devices called sound bases that can serve as a base for a TV.
To help you decide which is the right one for you, check out our soundbar buying guide and see which models we recommend.
This full-featured Dolby Atmos soundbar speaker from Sonos, an all-in-one model that doesn’t require a separate subwoofer, is among the top models in our ratings, with very good overall sound quality. It should provide satisfying sound for music and movie/TV soundtracks for even more critical listeners. The model features a total of 11 drivers, including one on each end, as well as two upfiring drivers positioned at the top for Dolby Atmos audio. The soundbar can be configured as part of a full surround-sound system when paired with a Sonos subwoofer and rear Sonos speakers, and/or as part of a multiroom system.
The Bose Smart Soundbar is a Dolby Atmos model that delivers decent overall sound, making it suitable for both music and movie soundtrack playback for more casual listeners. It’s a full-featured, 3.0.2 nonsurround model that can be expanded into a full 5.1.2-channel surround system. It can also be used as part of a multi-room WiFi audio system. It features Amazon Alexa built-in and works with Google Assistant (via the Google Home app on a mobile device and/or an optional Google smart speaker). It also has Bluetooth wireless connectivity for streaming audio from a portable device.
Anyone looking to save some space—or cut down on items to plug into their TV—should consider the Roku Streambar SE, a soundbar that includes a built-in Roku streaming player. Given its small footprint, it probably works best for smaller TVs, not that jumbo-sized set you’ve been eyeing.
Humidifiers
As the temperatures drop and we crank up the heat at home, the air we breathe becomes drier, which can lead to chapped skin, nosebleeds, and sore throats. Thankfully, this is a good time of year to find a humidifier at a deep discount.
When shopping for a humidifier, you can choose between two types: warm mist and cool mist. Warm-mist humidifiers essentially boil water and emit a warm vapor into the air. Cool-mist humidifiers use a variety of methods to create a cool vapor without boiling water.
In addition to deciding on the type of humidifier to buy, there are a few other things to consider. For instance, you’ll probably want to look for a model that’s easy to move and clean. And if you want to run the unit for long periods, you might need one with a shutoff timer or a humidistat that turns it off if the humidity gets too high (otherwise, your windows could fog up).
Make sure to check our buying guide, ratings, and recommendations before you start shopping so that you have the information you need to make the best choice.
This humidifier, rated for small rooms, is a fantastic balance of quality and price. It’s plenty capable, and it has an indicator when the water level is low, so it’s easy to know when you need to add more (and it shuts off automatically if you don’t get there in time).
Wireless Routers
A good wireless router can help boost your WiFi signal, eliminate any dead spots in your home, and ensure that everyone in the family can stream, play, and otherwise spend time online uninterrupted. January can be a great month to find a new router for less, according to Consumer Reports’ data.
There’s a lot to consider when choosing a new router, including the size of your home and cybersecurity protections. Start with CR’s buying guide, which walks you through all the factors to consider.
Bathroom Scales
Today’s digital scales track more than just your weight; they also offer additional information, such as your body fat percentage or body mass index (BMI). Some even connect to your phone, fitness tracker, and other smart devices for easier data tracking. You’ll often pay more for such features, so it’s important to decide what you want before you start shopping.
Check out our buying guide to see whether extra features are worth the added cost. According to our testers, weight measurements are consistent and accurate across most digital scales, but body-fat measurements aren’t.
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