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Melissa Nie

Junior Ryan Strobel examines Valentine's Day products at Walgreens on Randolph Ave.

Boxes of chocolate and heart-shaped lollipops — these are all items that are wonderful to share with someone on Valentine’s Day, but the deals on these products after Valentine’s Day are even sweeter.

Day-after clearances happen throughout the year. For example, on Nov. 1, shoppers can take advantage of the dramatically lowered prices of Reese’s Cups and Twix bars since there is no longer a need to fend off hordes of candy-seeking children. The other day where there is a huge drop in prices is the day after Easter.

But the day after Valentine’s Day is special. It’s the first major post-holiday sales of the year, and it has an appealing aesthetic in terms of its holiday leftovers.

Heart-shaped items will be everywhere. Heart-shaped decor, pillows, pens — everything that can be heart-shaped probably exists. If a lovecore aesthetic sounds appealing, this is the time to act.

But onto the biggest reason why the day after Valentine’s Day is so great: the candy discounts.

Sharita Hart, the assistant manager at the Walgreens on Randolph Ave., explains how her store decides on discounts and how they manage leftover candy.

“Corporate sends us down a message saying fifty percent off all things that are Valentine’s themed,” Hart said. “We put signs up to indicate everything that’s fifty percent off.”

The prices decline rapidly as Valentine’s Day moves farther away.

“If we still have stuff lingering around a week after, then it’ll go seventy-five,” she said.

According to Hart, the most common Valentine’s Day treat that goes unsold at Walgreens is conversation hearts.

It seems like the customers at Walgreens follow a larger trend. Conversation hearts, according to Reader’s Digest, are one of the worst types of candy that one could receive because they taste like chalk and are generally unsatisfying.

Junior Nina Smetana expresses her thoughts on conversation hearts.

“I know those hearts are a staple of Valentine’s Day, but they really don’t taste very good,” she said.

What does she suggest instead?

“Chocolate is the right kind of thing to buy,” she said.

But not all chocolates are equal. Hart says that although M&Ms sell out quickly, Hershey’s Kisses sometimes get left behind. As for heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, that depends on the brand.

“We normally have the not-so-popular ones: Elmer’s, some Whitman’s,” Hart said.

No matter what is leftover, there is bound to be something for the discount-seeking customer. So, if Valentine’s Day didn’t shape up, look forward to Feb. 15, the Holy Grail of satisfying a frugal sweet tooth.