We’ve put together a short list of the best categories of products to find on sale during the Memorial Day weekend promotions as well as the product categories you should avoid until another month. Check it out:

What to Buy? Appliances: If you are in the market for a new refrigerator or washer/dryer set, Memorial Day sales won’t disappoint. You will see sales up to 30% early in May, accelerating up to 40% by Memorial Day weekend. You will also find stacked discounts when purchasing multiple appliances, ideal for anyone doing a kitchen renovation. Look to Home Depot, Lowes and Best Buy for excellent sales as well as deals on refurbished appliances at stores like Sears Outlet.

What to Avoid? Gas Grills: If you are in desperate need of a grill, you can find discounts on gas grills ranging 20% to 30% during Memorial Day sales. However, that’s nothing compared to the sales when the summer season draws to a close in late-August. If you can wait, you will be rewarded with grills sales that are 40% to 75% off MSRP.

What to Buy? Traditional Mattresses: This is a fantastic month to save money on a traditional mattress and improve the quality of your sleep. You will see sales on traditional mattresses ranging from 40% up to 80% on Memorial Day at retailers such as Sears, Overstock.com, Macy’s and smaller mattress retailers. You will also find solid sales at specialty stores like Sleep Number.

What to Avoid? Online Mattress-in-a-box Retailers: There are some fantastic brands in this space like Brooklyn Bedding, Purple and Casper. However, the peak discount periods for these companies are typically the same time as peak online shopping periods, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon Prime Day. You would be much better off waiting to see the discounts in July and November on these mattress brands.

What to Buy? Spring / Winter Clothing Lines: You will find discounts ranging from 50% to 70% on Spring clothing lines from retailers sure as 6pm, Sierra Trading Company, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s, Target, REI Outlet and other clothing retailers. It’s also a great time to get a deal on next year’s winter coat (60% to 80% off) at closeout prices at Columbia, eBay, Macy’s, and Mountain Hardwear. Look for bonus apparel deals for Memorial Day shoppers such as coupons in store flyers or freebies like tote bags.

What to Avoid? Summer Clothing Lines: These clothing lines have just been released and won’t have much more than a 20% to 40% discount off the retail price during Memorial Day sales. Swimwear will be much cheaper toward the end of the summer as well accessories like sandals and beachwear.

What to Buy? Tools: While Black Friday traditionally has the best discounts on hand and power tools, Memorial Day isn’t far behind. Look to retailers like Home Depot and Lowes to push sales on power tool combo kits as well as hand tool sets, as much as 40% off retail prices.

What to Avoid? General Electronics: Unlike tools, Memorial Day is an extremely poor holiday for deals on laptops, televisions and anything made by Apple. Laptops will go on sale in late July / early August with back-to-school sales, televisions will go on sale as the college football and NFL seasons start, then prices will drop even more in November around Black Friday. As for Apple, look to September for iPhone discounts and November for MacBook discounts. November is also good for Samsung discounts, both smartphones and televisions.

What to Buy? Camping Gear / Hiking Sneakers: If you really want to burn some calories, how about hiking up a trail and camping out for a night? May is the absolute best time to find sales on camping equipment, usually ranging from 30% to 70% depending on the product. We are also seeing amazing sales on Nike gear from stores like Finish Line and general sneaker sales on eBay.

What to Avoid? Fitness / Workout Equipment: While it might be too late to start getting in shape for the beach, it’s still a bit too early to find discounts on fitness gear. June is a great month to find discounts on last year’s fitness equipment since big-box and fitness retailers will be clearing out old inventory.

TIP: Here’s our roundup of all Memorial Day Sales this year. LINK. We will continue to update this list throughout the sale period.

What to Buy (and what to avoid) on Memorial Day 2021

If you are looking for deals this holiday weekend, there are definitely certain product categories that you should keep an eye out for. Regarding start times, Kristin Cook, Managing Editor of Ben’s Bargains, says “Early Memorial Day sales started on the 18^th this year, but most sales will kick off starting on Monday the 21st and run through Memorial Day weekend.”

Here are our picks for what not to buy on Memorial Day (and what to buy instead).

Gas Grills

Any sales you see on grills on Memorial Day will be a pittance compared to the sales at the end of summer. On average, you will see discounts on gas grills ranging up to 20% during Memorial Day sales, not the 40% to 75% sales that will pop up as the summer season draws to a close post-August.

What to Buy Instead: Appliances: Typical to most major holidays, retailers like Home Depot, Lowes and Sears offer discounts between 30 to 50 percent on on major appliances like refrigerators and washer/dyer combos. Look for discounts on small appliances as well, which should be discounted at the highest percentage until Labor Day. Price match retailers against each other for competitive pricing and look for expanded discounts related to store credit cards.

Summer Clothing Lines

These clothing lines have just been released and won’t have much more than a 20% to 40% discount off the retail price. Swimwear, in particular, will be much cheaper toward the end of the summer.

What to Buy instead: Spring / Winter Clothing Lines. You will find discounts ranging from 50% to 90% on Spring clothing lines from retailers sure as 6pm, Sierra Trading Company, Old Navy, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Target, REI, Kohl’s and other clothing retailers. It’s a great time to get a deal on next year’s winter coat at closeout prices.

Pool Supplies / Floats

This is the season when everyone is getting their pool back in order, thus discounts on pool gear will be minimal. The same goes for all the fun toys that you toss into your pool; floats, beach balls, etc… Discounts on these products usually hit as the busy summer season, typically late August / early September.

What to Buy Instead: Travel Deals: Instead of outfitting your own pool, book a deal at a hotel where you can lay by their pool. We typically see deals ranging from 40 to 60 percent off hotels and flights during Memorial Day weekend sales. Look to sites like Expedia, Kayak and Travelocity for weekend sales.

General Electronics

Memorial Day is usually an extremely poor holiday for deals on laptops, televisions and anything made by Apple. Laptops will go on sale in late July / early August with back-to-school sales, televisions will go on sale as football season starts, then prices will drop even more in November. As for Apple, look to September for iPhone discounts and November for MacBook discounts.

What to Buy Instead: Mattresses. This is a killer month to spend money on a new bed rather than what screen you will be staring at while falling asleep. You will see mattress sales ranging from 40% up to 80% on Memorial Day at retailers such as Sears, Overstock.com, Macy’s and smaller mattress retailers.

Fitness / Workout Gear

If you have been lax on your New Year’s resolution to get in shape for the beach, you have our permission to wait one more month. Big-box and fitness retailers will be clearing out old products during June, hence you will find discounts that match January’s clearance events.

What to Buy Instead: Camping Gear / Sneakers. If you really want to burn some calories, how about hiking up a trail and camping out for a night? May is the absolute best time to find sales on camping equipment, usually ranging from 30% to 80% depending on the product. We are also seeing amazing sales on Nike gear from stores like Finish Line and general sneaker sales on eBay.

What Not to Buy on Memorial Day 2018

With Memorial Day weekend rapidly approaching, retailers have started rolling out a rash of early sales turning the last half of May into an extended Memorial themed sale holiday. In years past, Memorial Day has traditionally served up the best sales since the start of the year. However, many of these sales are meant to capture the attention of casual shoppers, not necessarily deal hunters.

While it’s obviously not going to be Black Friday quality in terms of the average discount percentage, you will see some discounts on big-screen HDTVs and Dell Inspiron laptops and desktops as well as a significant increase in apparel discounts. As we pointed out in our what to buy in May article, apparel is usually a minimum of 50% off and can be improved with special Memorial Day sale coupons.

However, we aren’t just going to provide you with a few quips about what product categories you should buy right now or wait to buy in a few months. Our veteran deal editors have started analyzing each Memorial Day sale in order to evaluate the quality. We don’t want you to spend your limited free time shopping when you could be relaxing in the sun!

When we evaluate a sale, we are approaching it with two questions in mind:

Combined with our expert knowledge on current product prices and our deal history data, we use these two questions to assign each retailer sale a letter grade (A, B, C, D and F). We will also tell you why it’s either excellent or lacking in substance. (We will continue to update these lists as Memorial Day approaches.)

While these grades are specific to the overall quality of the sale, we’ve also cherry picked the best deals from the ads (Graded C or higher) in order to help you focus in on specific products.

[table caption=”2014 Memorial Day Sale Grades” width=”620″ colwidth=”40|10|50″ colalign=”center|center|center”]
Store,Grade,Reasoning

Amazon,B,Regular discounts match sales prior to Memorial Day – however Lightning Deals offer superior discounts. Notable Deals: $56 Grilling Table | $50 Philips iPhone Speaker | $380 ASUS 11.6-inch tablet

Best Buy,C,Sale prices are extremely similar to previous weeks – but includes a couple good discounts on mobile devices. Notable Deals: $99 Samsung S5 with trade-in | $199 Kindle Fire HDX | $199 GoPro HD Hero3

Dell,B,No big splash for the sale but some good TV/gift card bundles as well as laptop and tablet deals. Notable Deals:  $250 Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop | $130 Dell Venue 8 Tablet

Lowe’s,D,Sale prices are actually higher than we’ve seen on Lowe’s deals in the last few months – just 10 to 20% off MSRP.

Macy’s,B,The extra 20% discount on clearance and sale items raises the sale a step above competitors. Notable Deals: 25% off Clearance Items | $199 KitchenAid Mixer | $279 Pillowtop Mattress

Microsoft Store,A,Extremely aggressive sale on Xbox One video games as well as solid laptop deals. Notable Deals: $599 HP ENVY TouchSmart 15 Laptop | $60 Three Xbox One Games

Newegg,B,Nothing truly exceptional. But there’s a multitude of excellent prices on video cards and storage devices. Notable Deals: $35 Hisense Sero 7 Tablet | $60 Laiputuo Car OBDII HUD

Perry Ellis,A,40% off sitewide + a 20% off stackable code matches the best prices all year – particularly on suits. Notable Deals: $101 Textured Suit & Jacket | $22 Solid Linen Pocket Shirt

Puma,B,Extra 30% off all prices that are already discounted up to 60% – Not as good as Black Friday but still excellent. Notable Deal: $35 Puma Redon Move Men’s Shoes

REI,A,Amazing closeouts on apparel at the REI Outlet right now – plus up to 30% off on the main REI site. Notable Deals: 60% off all Patagonia Merrell and Sierra Designs | $47 Merrell Travel Laptop Bag

Walmart,C,Most deals are average with some mild standouts in outdoor and home items as well as HDTVs. Notable Deals: $45 Queen Airbed | $179 14′ X 42″ Swimming Pool | $399 Pathfinder II Swing Set

[/table]

Be sure to check back for updates as we get closer to Memorial Day. In addition, be sure to check out the Ben’s deal feed to see the most recent batch of deals from online retailers. You can also set up a deal alert here in order to get informed over email when the price on a product drops to a price you are comfortable with.

What are the best Memorial Day Sales this year?

While Spring has been around for over a month at this point, temperatures have finally started to get more tolerable across the country. As you emerge from your winter hibernation, retailers are excited to get you into the stores to shop for new products. As always, we have combed through our deal history over the last ten years to give you the insider perspective of what type of deals to expect this month.

Memorial Day is Creeping up Quickly

During 2014 and 2015, you will see Memorial Day sales advertised sooner, basically because the holiday is on the 26th (this year) and 25th (next year), as opposed to the end of the month. Similar to how Black Friday sales started earlier during 2013, pre-Memorial Day sales will start by the second full week of May.

Dell is normally aggressive with computer and television discounts in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day weekend. Last year we saw some a huge number of discounts on big-screen HDTVs and Inspiron laptops and desktops on the Thursday before the big Memorial Day weekend. They weren’t historical lows, but still solid sale prices.

In addition, expect to see a significant increase in the number of apparel sales. Last year, we saw sales from clothing brands / retailers such as Kenneth Cole, Aeropostale, Levi and Altrec. Sales are usually a minimum of 50 percent off merchandise and can be improved with special Memorial Day sale coupons in your local paper.

May can also be a great time to get next year’s winter jacket for heavily discounted prices. However, be aware that much of this stock has been picked over already due to 50 to 75 percent off sales during April. You will also find a larger number of sales on Spring clothing as retailers have started to shift to the summer lines.

Game on!

In addition to Xbox One discounts that should continue throughout May around the $450 price point, the long-awaited Watch Dogs multi-platform game comes out just before Memorial Day. Based off coverage of the title, it should be a significant hit for Ubisoft.

Expect Amazon, Newegg and Dell to offer pre-order discounts on all versions of the title, console and PC. In fact, Dell already has: LINK. In addition, NVIDIA is bundling the game with the purchase of a new GeForce graphics card from participating retailers.

It’s time to leave college

Starting in May (and continuing through early June), this is the time that retailers compete for shoppers that are purchasing graduation gifts. As your college student graduates college and heads off to their first job / apartment, they are going to need housewares that are a step up from the dorm hotplate. You should be able to find numerous deals on cookware sets and small kitchen appliances.

In addition, look for heavy discounts on vacuum cleaners. In years past, the release cycle for new vacuum cleaners has been scheduled for June. This means that all the older models will be discounted heavily to make room on store shelves.

Upgrade the big screen with a bigger screen

In late April, we’ve already seen a lot of big TV discounts on last year’s models. Expect that trend to continue into May. Dell is bundling big gift cards in the range of $200 to $400 with 2013 HDTVs from Sharp, Samsung and Vizio. You will also see television sales increase as we get closer to Memorial Day. Specifically, look for the best deals on larger panels in the 55 to 60-inch range.

More Memory Can’t Hurt

Memory prices are steadily declining since last fall’s China factory fire. Don’t expect the impending release of DDR4 to make any impact on current DDR3 prices. That’s still many months away, probably not until 2015. On a similar note, Intel’s 5th gen chips, codenamed “Broadwell,” have been delayed until the beginning of 2015, so the current 4th generation PCs should hold their prices longer than the previous generation.

You can also find solid deals on laptops this month, namely because manufacturers are continuing to slash prices to fight off dwindling demand for the platform. That being said, if you can afford to wait another couple months for a new laptop, back-to-school laptop sales during July will offer the best value for your dollar.

Embrace your inner Gym Rat

Traditionally, when the weather improves significantly outside, the number of people that hit the gym drops. Of course, gyms in extremely hot climates or extremely cold climates will still see gym rats during the summer or winter. If you live in a mild climate, look for gyms membership deals that offer reduced rates, zero sign-up fees or even offers that don’t require you to sign a long contract.

Score deals by skipping the retailer completely

During the May / June period, you will see an increase in thrift store inventory as well as a larger number of yard sales each weekend. This is specifically due to Spring cleaning and it can help you score some amazing bargains on pre-owned merchandise. Check Craigslist each weekend as well as the thrift stores in upscale neighborhoods to find the best scores.

Waste Not, Want Not: The Best Deals to Buy in May