Memorial Day is a time for friends and family to gather together and be grateful for everything they have. Despite being primarily about honoring people who have died in service of the United States, it has become somewhat of a shopping holiday for many Americans. Any time there is a three-day weekend, you can be sure there’s going to be more than a few sales to be had.
Mattresses, laptops, clothing, 4K TVs, smart home products, and outdoor deals will be strewn across the internet during this time, with some awesome savings ripe for the picking. So if you’re looking to save big on some shiny new stuff for Memorial Day 2019, we’ve gathered everything you need to know into one place.
When are the best Memorial Day sales?
Memorial Day always happens on the last Monday of May. So that means that the actual holiday will land on May 27 this year — but that doesn’t mean that’s when the sales will start rolling in. Most retail stores like Macy’s, Home Depot, Kohls, Sephora, and others will likely start their Memorial Day sales as early as May 24. For online retailers, however, it’s hard to pin down when exactly the sales will happen. Home Depot and Lowe’s, for example, will likely start discounting major appliances as soon as all of those Mother’s Day promotions end. So you should be able to expect at least the mention of holiday savings as early as May 13.
Where are the best sales?
Much like Presidents’ Day or Labor Day weekend, most of the major online retailers will be having sales. Determining which ones are best for you really just depends on what kind of savings you’re looking for. Whether it’s mattress deals, clothing sales, or huge discounts on technology, you just need t know where to look. Using previous years as a guide, here’s a quick rundown of where to find the best deals for Memorial Day 2019:
- Clothing sales: Some of the best shopping on Memorial Day has traditionally been on clothing. You can pretty much expect every major clothing retailer to have some sort of sale going on, but if you’re looking for the most possible savings, there are a few places where you can focus your search. Macy’s, Kohls, Old Navy, Lulu Lemon, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, REI, and a host of other retail outlet stores you’d find at a mall will likely have some crazy discounts going on. You can also keep your eye on Amazon and Walmart for some decent clothing sales if you’re OK with buying something that doesn’t have a top brand associated with it.
- Mattress sales: If you’ve been thinking about picking up a new mattress for cheap, three-day weekends are among the best possible times to do so. Brick-and-mortar locations like Sleep Train and Mattress Firm will likely have some solid promotions going on, but if you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck, a bed-in-a-box brand is one of the best ways to go. Sites like Casper, Tuft and Needle, Layla Sleep, DreamCloud, and Nectar are all going to have some sort of promo going on. With memory foam mattresses under $500, the holiday weekend is a great time to save on anything and everything related to sleep.
- Outdoorgear sSales: A lot of folks choose to go on a camping trip during Memorial Day weekend, and considering it’s basically the start of summer for most people, it makes a lot of sense. You can find some of the very best discounts during the REI anniversary sale, which happens around this time every year. You can also look out for solid deals from sites like Backcountry, which usually offer some sort of promo for these weekend events.
- Laptop deals: Memorial Day is actually a pretty great time to find really good laptop discounts. Big brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Razer will often drop prices pretty significantly direct from their sites. There will also likely be a discount or two on MacBooks and iPads from bigger retailers like Walmart and Amazon.
- Home appliance sales: If you’re in the market for a new refrigerator, washing machine, or range, this is one of the best times of the year to save big. Home Depot and Lowe’s will likely have the biggest discounts on large appliances, but if you’re looking for smaller appliances, Amazon and Walmart are a great option. Air fryers, Instant Pots, and a wide variety of other kitchen appliances are likely to be on sale.
How to know if a sale is actually a good deal?
With Memorial Day sales, like any shopping event, it’s important to do your research before you buy. There are quite a few retailers out there that will try to capitalize on this buying weekend by slapping “Memorial Day” on everything, raising the prices, and then applying discounts to products. This is something you should especially be wary of when shopping online. Considering Prime Day 2019 is fast approaching as well, here are a few quick tips for spotting good deals online:
- Compare prices on other sites: It can be hard to do this for clothing, but if you’re shopping for a laptop or an appliance, a quick check of other stores can help you decide if you’re getting a good price.
- Read the fine print: Some sales aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, but you have to read all of the details to know that. A BOGO sale could mean a wide variety of different things and mail-in rebates are always more work than they ought to be.
- Use your judgment: When it comes to shopping, online or otherwise, it’s important not to trust everything you see. Deals were designed to get you to make an impulsive buying decision, so make sure you do your due diligence before going too crazy with your purchases.
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