What to say in a shop’s closing-down sale notice
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Tell customers what is closing, when ordinary shopping ends and how they can raise an existing purchase query. Keep the notice factual. A closing-down sale is a poor place for promises about every item being reduced or every remaining obligation being settled unless those statements have been checked.
Start by deciding whether the whole business is closing or only this location. If another branch or online service continues, say exactly what remains available. Do not send customers to a continuing service until its responsible person has accepted that role.
A notice with facts the shop can check
This fictional draft uses placeholders deliberately. Replace them with approved facts before displaying it.
This shop’s last normal trading day is [date]. Our opening hours until then are [hours].
The closing-down sale covers [identified goods or departments]. Fixtures and items marked as reserved are excluded.
For an existing order or purchase query, contact [working route]. Collections already agreed with us will follow the arrangements confirmed with each customer.
The draft does not settle individual rights or replace the shop’s terms. It gives the customer enough information to understand the immediate change and find a real contact.
Check each line against evidence. Are the dates approved? Does the stock description match what staff can sell? Is someone actually reading the contact route? Have staff received the same information?
Do not write a blanket “no refunds” message
GOV.UK’s returns and refunds guidance explains that customers have the same rights on sale goods as on full-price goods. A closure discount does not justify a notice that dismisses every return or complaint.
The response to an individual case depends on its facts. Give staff an escalation route for questions they cannot decide. Avoid improvising a universal rule at the counter, particularly when the person who normally resolves complaints has left.
Before ending payment facilities, use the post-sale refund capability check. This concerns the business’s practical ability to carry out an agreed outcome, separately from deciding what that outcome should be.
Make the exclusions visible enough to matter
Customers may reasonably ask whether display units, counters or a machine behind the till are included. Identify what the retail sale covers and which assets are being handled separately. A handwritten price on stock nearby can create confusion if fixtures are also being discussed with potential buyers.
Keep reserved customer goods out of the apparent offer. The person authorising a sale needs a current view of those holds; a notice cannot compensate for an inaccurate allocation record.
If the future plan is uncertain, use the closure-versus-refit wording check. “Closing for a refit” creates a different expectation from permanent closure and should not be used merely because it sounds more reassuring.
Keep the notice consistent across channels
Coordinate the shop window, website and direct customer messages through the customer announcement sequence. If a date changes, update each controlled version and tell staff which wording is current.
Discuss fixtures, furniture and other business assets separately with UK Auction Group. Explain which goods remain in the customer-facing sale and which items are available for the closure disposal plan. That boundary should be clear in both the public notice and the instructions given to staff.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.