2017’s Best Labor Day Sales & Deals
2:16 AMPosted by: Richie Bernardo
Labor Day weekend is not just the last summer holiday you can celebrate — it’s also one of the best times of the year to shop. Many retailers mark down their inventory pretty sharply during the holiday, which is why many parents hold off until then to do their kids’ back-to-school shopping. You’re likely to find deep discounts on just about everything, from clothes to books to furniture to video games.
For more than a year, we kept an eye on America’s biggest retailers to find out what special deals they have in store for the upcoming holiday shopping bonanza. We also tracked various product categories to see which among them are discounted most heavily in September compared with the rest of the year. The standouts? Engagement Rings. If your wish list includes those items, September is the time to make room in your budget.
Below, we’ve listed 10 special Labor Day deals, followed by the most heavily discounted items in September and the best bargains by product category, such as “Apparel,” “Electronics” and “Jewelry.” For each, you’ll find the sale price and discount percentage to help you gauge your savings.
Read on for the best deals and money-saving tips from shopping experts. To learn how we found the deals, read our methodology.
- 10 Best Cherry-Picked Deals for Labor Day
- Items with Biggest Discounts in September vs. Rest of Yea
- Best Labor Day Sales by Category
- Ask the Experts: How to Save on Labor Day Shopping
10 Best Cherry-Picked Deals
| La-Z-Boy Aspen Rocker Recliner Driftwood | |
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Sale: $379.00 62.10% offSears (Price valid until Sept. 10) |
| Samsung 4-Piece Kitchen Package | |
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Sale: $1931.00 33.32% offJCPenney (Price valid Aug. 31 – Sept. 04) |
| HP 14” Laptop with Intel® Inside™ | |
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Sale: $199.99 33.33% offOffice Depot & OfficeMax (Price valid Sept. 03 – 09) |
| Beautyrest Silver Blue Springs, Serta Perfect Sleeper Elmstead or Sealy Response Performance Benish Euro Top Queen Sets | |
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Sale: $699.99 61.11% offSears (Price valid until Sept. 10) |
| Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE | |
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Sale: $129.98 35.00% offDICK’S Sporting Goods |
| Ninebot by Segway – miniPRO Self-Balancing Scooter – White | |
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Sale: $559.99 30.00% offBest Buy (Price valid until Sept. 09. Clients must create an online account and sign up for the Student Deals program.) |
| Kenmore 05142 3.3 cu. ft. Top Load Washer – White | |
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Sale: $299.99 28.57% offKmart (Price valid until Sept. 09) |
| HP LaserJet Pro M203dw Printer | |
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Sale: $128.98 35.18% offSam’s Club (Price valid until Sept. 30) |
| All 10-Pc. Queen Comforter Sets | |
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Sale: $149.99 46.43% offJCPenney (Price valid Aug. 31 – Sept. 04) |
| Samsung UN55J6201 55" 1080p Smart LED TV | |
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Sale: $499.99 58.33% offBJ’s (Price valid until Sept. 06) |
For a more in-depth look at Labor Day deals, please select your favorite category below.
- Apparel & Accessories
- Appliances
- Computers & Phones
- Consumer Electronics
- Packaged Goods
- Furniture
- Jewelry
- Toys
- All Other Product Categories
(*) - Pre-Labor Day Deal (ends before 9/3)(**) - Deals begin before Labor Day; end post-Labor Day
Appliances(**) - Deals begin before Labor Day; end post-Labor Day# - Post-Labor Day Deals (Begin and end after the 3-day weekend)
Computers & Phones*These deals are only valid in Office Depot and OfficeMax stores Sept. 4 through Sept. 10
Consumer Electronics(**) - Deals begin before Labor Day; end post-Labor Day
Consumer Packaged Goods*Offer available for “IKEA Family members” only.**Only available online
Furniture*These deals are only valid in Office Depot and OfficeMax stores Sept. 4 through Sept. 10
Jewelry*Toys''R''Us will be having free shipping days 9/2-9/5. Standard exclusions apply.
All Other Product Categories*Offer available for “IKEA Family members” only.
Ask The Experts < >
Mehdi T. Hossain Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business at Southern Connecticut State University
Daniel F. Stone Assistant Professor of Economics at Bowdoin College
Mark S. Rosenbaum Professor and Chair of the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management
Randy S. Stuart Associate Professor of Marketing and Professional Sales in the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University
Denish Shah Barbara and Elmer Sunday Professor of Marketing and Director of the Master of Science in Marketing Program in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University
James Doyle Assistant Professor of Management, Marketing, and International Business in the School of Business at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Linda Fisher Professor of Law at Seton Hall University
Gregory J. Madden Professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University
What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? There are a few strategies that consumers can apply to avoid overspending. I would suggest the following:
- Shop (at least search) online -- shopping online is attractive to consumers for many reasons. One important way in which shopping online assists decision making is that consumers can easily compare alternative deals online, as the cost of search is minimum. Moreover, consumers tend to make more vice (indulgent and impulsive) choices when they shop at offline retail stores, relative to when they shop online. At offline stores, products are presented more vividly (relative to online), consumers can touch the products, and think about their immediate experience of consuming the product (Huyghe et al. 2017). Coupled with these factors, the atmospheric environment of offline retail stores can trigger emotional responses, which often leads to impulse buying. While it is important to experience the fun of shopping at offline retail stores, consumers should be careful about unplanned purchases, and for planned purchases, they should search online for alternative deals.
- Use cash when shopping at offline retail stores -- a strategy for avoiding overspending could be using cash rather than a credit card while you are shopping at offline retail stores. Research shows that when people pay by cash, they feel the "pain of payment" (Thomas, Desai and Seenivasan 2011), which prohibits impulse buying and reduces overspending tendencies. Such "pain of payment" is substantially reduced when people pay by credit card, and subsequently end up spending more than necessary.
- Plan your purchases ahead of time -- one way to avoid overspending and impulsive buying is to plan ahead of time. Consumers tend to be more emotional about their immediate (than future) consumption (Chang and Pham 2012). Therefore, one can avoid emotional impulsive choices by planning their purchases ahead of time.
- Think twice about deals on fun/emotional items -- a generally well-established finding in marketing research is that price discounts work more for hedonic (emotional, e.g., a beautiful flower vase) items relative to utilitarian (functional necessities, e.g., vacuum cleaner) items, mainly through a guilt reduction effect. When choosing between a hedonic and a utilitarian item, consumers often anticipate a sense of guilt of choosing the hedonic item which inhibits choice of the hedonic option (Khan and Dhar 2010; Okada 2005). Price promotions/discounts reduces such guilt and facilitates choice of the hedonic item. Therefore, it is easy to be swayed by attractive deals for fun/emotional items. In my own research (Hossain and Saini 2015), we had studied consumers’ reaction to free offers, and found that consumers’ reactions to free offers are stronger for hedonic products than for utilitarian products. So, I would assume that attractive Labor Day deals would increase consumers’ propensity to indulge themselves. While occasional indulgence is healthy, consumers should try and avoid impulsive consumption. Products that are bought on impulse are often hedonic in nature, and sales promotions trigger impulsive tendencies. Therefore, it is important for consumers not to buy products on deals just to avoid the "sense of missing out on a good deal."
- Shop during "optimal time-of-day" -- an interesting psychological factor that I observed in my research (Hossain and Saini 2014) is that whether we can avoid manipulative marketing offers depends on during what time of day we are making the decision. During the 24 hours cycle of a day, we all have optimal time of day, when our cognitive functions are at the optimum. Similarly, we experience a non-optimal time every day when we are tired, and don't have enough cognitive resources to make efficient decisions. Consumers can protect themselves from the illusions of price promotions when they shop during the optimal time of day. For evening-type people (who sleeps late and wakes up late), this time would be late in the day, and for morning-types (who sleeps early and wakes up early), this time would be early in the day. So, if you are an evening-type, I would recommend shopping in the evening, and if you are a morning-type, I would recommend shopping early in the day.
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale? I'd guess the obvious here: goods that are in especially high demand now, like barbecue and back-to-school supplies, and end-of-season clearances for summer clothes and other summer items. It's counter-intuitive to an economist that the goods in high demand would be discounted (an increase in demand is supposed to push prices up), but I think it's understood now that firms usually do this so the discounted goods will be loss leaders, and get consumers in the door to buy other things at relatively higher prices. I'd also expect “sales” from firms that seem to be perpetually offering sales, e.g., mattress stores, car dealers -- sellers of big-ticket items that customers don't shop for often, so maybe don't realize how frequent the sales are and why they might be misleading (if a good is always on “sale” -- then it never really is). Do you think retailers should remain open or close in observation of the Labor Day holiday? Does keeping stores open on a national holiday hurt employee morale? If demand is especially high on Labor Day, then I think it's very reasonable for retailers to remain open, but I think it might be a good idea for employers to explain this to employees and compensate them somehow (a natural way to do this would be an additional vacation day, i.e., an individual or firm-specific Labor Day of sorts). Labor Day isn't exactly a day with a lot of sentimental value for most people, so the cost to employees of coming in is not particularly high, while the (opportunity) cost of shutting down for firms would be high if it's a high demand day, so it makes sense to stay open and make a side-deal to keep employees happy. What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? Be very hesitant to buy things in stores you weren't planning to buy beforehand; focus on clearance sales (for items you're very confident you'll use when they're next in season) and be aware of how firms use sales as loss leaders; spend more time researching prices for more expensive items, and items whose prices vary more across sellers. Mark S. Rosenbaum Professor and Chair of the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management 
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale? Of course, we will see grocery stores promote loss leaders. In an apparel context, we are most likely to see the final push by retailers to move Spring and Summer 2017 merchandise. I don’t envision Labor Day 2017 will be a bust or a boon, but rather a so-called typical weekend. Let’s face facts, consumers are inundated with offers on a regular basis, so the term “Labor Day Sale” is becoming increasingly meaningless. What tips do you have for finding the best Labor Day deals? These are the same tips that I suggest on any day, engage in online browsing for deals before going into the physical store. For the truly budget-conscious, I recommend finding a deal in a store, such as Target or Kohl’s, and then either use free delivery, or pick up at the store. The best way to save money is to refrain from impulse shopping. Eliminate that urge with buy online, pick up at the store. Holiday specific “deals” and “bargains” are being continuously watered-down by retailers who post daily deals. Why do consumers need to wait for a Labor Day deal when they can download a coupon from RetailMeNot anytime? Indeed, most consumers will overlook a Labor Day deal as simply another retailer promotional tactic. Do you think retailers should remain open or close in observation of the Labor Day holiday? Does keeping stores open on a national holiday hurt employee morale? Retailers need to determine whether their clientele will be in an active shopping mode on Labor Day. Clearly, retailers that serve governmental employees would find it wasteful to be open on Labor Day. However, Labor Day has become more of a day of relaxation rather than a day of remembrance in many locations. Unfortunately, in locales that view the day as an opportunity to wonder into new areas, it makes sense for retailers to accommodate their customers’ desires. In terms of employee morale and national holidays, I believe that morale is impacted by each specific holiday. For example, employees may view working on Thanksgiving very differently than working on Labor Day or President’s Day. Retailers must evaluate their decision to remain open by balancing customer demands and employee desires. Even if employees desire to take a holiday, many retailers must adhere to mall operating hours of face penalties. What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? As I mentioned before, to avoid overspending, I suggest that consumers use buy online, pick up at store options, unless they met the free shipping minimums. Use the Internet to shop for deals prior to entering a physical store. Have a strategy in place before entering a store. Randy S. Stuart Associate Professor of Marketing and Professional Sales in the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University 
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale?
- End-of-summer merchandise, such as pool toys, swimwear;
- Merchandise for the “last barbeques” of the summer to include grills and accessories, and groceries such as corn on the cob, steaks and watermelon;
- Back-to-school merchandise (clothing, supplies, electronics).
- Online searches for product items needed/wanted by consumers;
- Start watching ads in local newspapers starting with Sunday, August 20;
- Paying particular attention to the newspaper ads Thursday, August 31, Friday, September 1, Sunday, August 27 and Sunday, September 3;
- There will also be a lot of television advertising for Labor Day sales, pretty much running on the same dates as the newspaper ads mentioned above.
- Be a smart consumer by having a buying plan and sticking to the plan;
- Decide what is really needed/wanted, and how much a consumer is willing to pay to satisfy those needs and wants;
- Pay cash or use credit card for purchases, but only if those purchases can be paid in full on receipt of credit card statement.
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale? A wide variety of products are discounted as part of the Labor Day Sale. However, discounts on clothes, shoes, and mattresses typically tend to dominate the Labor Day Sale. In particular, we tend to see a wide range of discounts offered by apparel retailers, as the Labor Day is close to the change in season (from Summer to Fall), and hence retailers are eager to clear their summer inventory. What tips do you have for finding the best Labor Day deals? The top 3 places to find deals are Internet, Internet, and Internet. Online retailers like Amazon and Overstock.com prominently advertise the Labor Day discounts on their websites. To find deals and coupons at brick and mortar stores (as well as online stores), consumers may save time by looking at deal aggregator sites (such has slickdeals.net, dealnews.com, dealcatecher.com, retailmenot.com, etc.), rather than visiting the website of each individual retailer. Do you think retailers should remain open or close in observation of the Labor Day holiday? Does keeping stores open on a national holiday hurt employee morale? Labor Day honors the contribution of the workers that have helped make the United States of America such a great country. Given the fact that majority of offices (including private sector, government, and non-profits) are closed on Labor Day, I feel that retail stores should also remain closed. After all, Labor Day is for honoring the American workforce. It is likely that the morale of employees that are expected to work on the Labor Day will be adversely impacted. However, Labor Day also happens to be a cash cow for retail stores, with a large number of consumers choosing to shop on that day. In other words, retailers have to basically choose between whether they want to hurt employee morale or their bottom-line? The revenue and profit-driven mindset of corporate America results in majority of retails stores to be open on Labor Day. Unfortunately, we see a disturbing trend. Even on family-oriented holidays like Thanksgiving, increasingly large number of retailers are opening their stores early in the evening on the day of Thanksgiving. What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? Three fundamental tips:
- Do not buy something just because you are getting an “awesome” deal. Ask yourself whether you really need that dress or the item that is on sale. If you are not sure, there is a good chance that you don’t need it.
- For things that you need to purchase -- do not get carried away by marketing promotions that are disguised as “buy-more save-more” offers. For example, “free shipping for purchases over $50” or “buy 3 shirts and get extra 10% off your purchase.” Succumbing to such promotions opens up the possibility of not only over-spending, but also buying unnecessary items (simply to get the highest discount, free shipping, or free stuff that was promised with the higher dollar value of purchase).
- Always keep a shopping budget and adhere to it. Easier said than done when using a credit card. There are several mobile apps available (e.g., Spending Tracker) that can help you track your expenses. The key is to force yourself out of a store or away from a website once your budget is exhausted. Otherwise, marketing will get you.
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale? I would ordinarily expect to see end-of-season items on clearance, as retailers are looking to free up sales floor space. Even though the weather remains nice around much of the country, retailers are already gearing up for Fall and all its festivities, and at this point (without a discount), the relative probability of selling a seasonal item may be lower than, say, in April or May. With school starting again, academic equipment and supplies, as well as back-to-school clothing and accessories can also be marked down, even though demand for them is naturally high at this time of year. Since services can’t really be inventoried, I generally expect to see less discounting on them. What tips do you have for finding the best Labor Day deals? Don’t be afraid to ask about price matching opportunities, and look into websites that inform visitors/subscribers about exciting deals, such as www.hiptosave.com, http://ift.tt/tTufGH, and http://ift.tt/1gq5MC7. What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? From a wealth and cash flow management perspective, I would recommend against making a purchase simply because a particular product is available at a marked down price. Moreover, it can be useful to look at the regular price the retailer is wanting customers to use as a reference point to ensure it is, in fact, representative of the regular price for that item. Instead, I would recommend planning purchases out over a longer period of time, and only spending when there is a clearly defined rationale for doing so. Spending by itself can make it difficult to make bills and, depending on your payment behavior, can even impact your credit score. If you are set on making a purchase, check out websites specializing in the buying and selling of gift cards. Depending on the retailer, consumers can save 10% or more when they buy a gift card that someone else is not interested in using. From a security standpoint, however, I would recommend verifying the balance with the retailer soon after purchasing that gift card. Finally, try to make purchases that themselves earn rewards, and instead of splurging on items that will depreciate or get “old” quickly, think about investing as a possible route for longer term wealth creation. Linda Fisher Professor of Law at Seton Hall University 
What types of products are most likely to be discounted as part of a Labor Day Sale? Often big stuff, like major appliances and mattresses, but also summer clothes. What tips do you have for finding the best Labor Day deals? Scour online sites that are known to have good sales, such as Kohl's or Macy's. Do this ahead of time, so you'll have an idea what to zero in on when the time comes. Do you think retailers should remain open or close in observation of the Labor Day holiday? Does keeping stores open on a national holiday hurt employee morale? It would be respectful to employees to close on Labor Day, but then again, many people are eager to work for holiday pay. What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? The same tips I always have to avoid overspending: set a monthly budget and stick to it (at least mostly). If you go over, spend less the next month. Add up all your purchases each month and keep close track of them. After all, you'll never improve if you're not aware of your spending patterns. If you engage in too much retail therapy, try finding healthier outlets, like yoga or meditation. Gregory J. Madden Professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University 
What tips do you have for avoiding overspending during the Labor Day sales period? My advice there is to decide, before you go shopping, how much is the maximum amount that you can afford to spend. Do this the day before, when your state of mind is relaxed, preferably early in the day. Write this amount down, and write down a few reasons why spending more is not a good idea. Write this as though you are trying to convince a friend not to overspend. When you are done, spend a quiet moment thinking about yourself shopping. Conjure up as many details as you can. Then picture yourself reading the piece of paper on which you just wrote the reasons to not over-spend. Then go shopping with the paper in your pocket or purse. Consult the paper as needed. For further insurance against over-spending, share your note with a friend before you go shopping with that friend. Give your friend permission to give you a hard time if you are about to impulse buy.
Methodology
To find the best savings opportunities this coming Labor Day weekend, WalletHub’s number crunchers surveyed deals from the following 17 retailers:
Electronics
- TV ($300–$600)
- Digital Camera ($170–$340)
- No-Contract Cell Phones ($100–$400)
- Refrigerator ($200–$1000)
- Dishwasher ($500–$1000)
- Washing Machine ($500–$2000)
- Ranges ($1000–$2500)
- Microwaves ($100–$200)
- Laptop ($450–$900)
- Tablets ($200–$500)
- Engagement Rings ($1000–$3000)
- Exercise Bikes ($400–$700)
- Treadmills ($500–$1200)
- Baby Crib ($200–$500)
- Strollers ($200–$500)
- Car Seats ($200–$500)
Sources: Data used to create the lists were collected from the aforementioned retailers, SlickDeals, DealNews and offers.com.
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