Posted on Wednesday, January 08, 2014 at 3:45 am CST
It is thought the January sale originated in 1878 at the John Wanamaker department store, Philadelphia. Prior to 1878 January was a very slow time of the year for retailers but thanks to the simple idea of offering shoppers bargains January became a very busy time of year, the busiest for some retailers.
Source: Offeropoly