4th of July Sales

The Second Wave of Summer Sales

Memorial Day opens the summer sale season in late May. The July 4th sales window — running from roughly July 1 through July 5 — closes it, and in several categories it matches or surpasses what Memorial Day delivered. Retailers who did not fully clear appliance, mattress, and outdoor inventory in May use the July 4th window as a second opportunity, often with more aggressive pricing on models that have been sitting since spring.

The extended promotional window is part of what makes July 4th effective. Five consecutive days of promotional activity allows retailers to escalate deals mid-event as they monitor sell-through, which means the best pricing on specific items sometimes appears on July 3rd or 4th rather than at the start of the sale. If you are targeting a specific appliance or TV, it is worth checking pricing across the full window rather than assuming the opening day price is the floor.

The 2026 tariff environment that elevated appliance and furniture prices earlier this year remains a factor. List prices in these categories are genuinely higher than two years ago. A 20 percent discount off a tariff-elevated list price still represents real savings compared to buying in October at full price — but it is worth checking what an item cost 60 days ago to verify the promotional anchor reflects the actual price rather than a temporarily inflated one.

What to Buy at July 4th

Large Appliances

July 4th is one of the two strongest windows on the appliance calendar, alongside Memorial Day. Home Depot, Lowe's, and Best Buy run coordinated appliance events with genuine discounts of 15 to 25 percent on refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, and ranges from LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Bosch. If you missed Memorial Day or were waiting for a specific model to come back in stock, July 4th provides a comparable opportunity.

One tactical advantage of July 4th versus Memorial Day for appliances: installers and haul-away services are more available in July than during the spring holiday rush, which reduces the lead time between purchase and delivery. See the Best Time to Buy Large Appliances guide for the full annual comparison.

TVs

July 4th is one of the three best TV buying windows of the year. TV manufacturers release next-year model lineups in fall, which means July represents current-year inventory moving toward end-of-life pricing. Retailers discount aggressively to clear floor space before fall model arrivals. Discounts of 20 to 35 percent are common at 65-inch and larger screen sizes, with OLED and QLED models that were recently out of range hitting their best mid-year pricing.

Best Buy is the primary competitive venue for TVs at July 4th, with the widest selection and sharpest pricing on major brands. Costco members should check the warehouse sale. Amazon competes on specific models. See the Best Time to Buy a TV guide for how July 4th compares to Black Friday pricing — the gap is smaller than most people assume.

Mattresses

Direct-to-consumer mattress brands run July 4th events comparable in structure and depth to their Memorial Day promotions. Nectar, Purple, Casper, and Saatva treat both holidays as primary annual events. Advertised discounts of 25 to 50 percent reflect the DTC brand practice of setting aspirational MSRPs; the effective savings off normal selling price is real but typically closer to 20 to 30 percent.

The practical note for shoppers who missed Memorial Day: July 4th is not a second-best option. DTC mattress brands treat both events with equivalent promotional investment. If you need a mattress, July 4th is a fully legitimate buying window. See the Best Time to Buy a Mattress guide for the full year view.

Grills and Outdoor Cooking

Grills are mid-season at July 4th, not end-of-season clearance, which caps how deep the discounts go. Typical savings run 10 to 20 percent on gas and pellet grills — real but below Memorial Day's 15 to 25 percent promotional depth. The practical use case: if you need a grill for a summer of cooking and Memorial Day passed without a purchase, July 4th works. For the best price of the year on most grills, September and October clearance beats both summer events. See the Best Time to Buy a Grill guide.

Outdoor Furniture

Patio furniture and outdoor seating see July 4th promotions of 15 to 25 percent at Wayfair, Amazon, Home Depot, and specialty outdoor retailers. Selection is still good at this point in the season; it narrows significantly in August. If Memorial Day passed and you still need outdoor furniture, July 4th offers a combination of adequate selection and promotional pricing that justifies acting now rather than waiting for end-of-season clearance, when selection may not include what you want.

See the Best Time to Buy Patio Furniture guide for end-of-season context.

Mattresses and Bedding

Bedding brands including Brooklinen, Parachute, and similar DTC home brands run July 4th events alongside their mattress counterparts. Sheet sets, duvet covers, and pillows see 20 to 30 percent discounts. This is the same quality of promotion as their Memorial Day events. See the Best Time to Buy Bedding guide.

Retailer Breakdown

TVs: Best Buy leads. Costco for members. Amazon for specific models.

Appliances: Home Depot and Lowe's run the deepest promotions; which is better depends on brand preference. Best Buy competes on premium brands. All three offer installation and haul-away during the event period.

Mattresses: Shop direct. DTC brand websites offer the headline July 4th pricing, and third-party retailers rarely improve on it.

Outdoor furniture: Wayfair for widest selection. Home Depot for branded outdoor sets. Amazon for value pricing on major brands.

One strategic note: Amazon Prime Day follows July 4th by roughly ten days. For tech purchases — laptops, tablets, earbuds, smart home — it may be worth waiting those ten days for Prime Day's broader electronics selection and deeper tech-specific discounts. For appliances, TVs, mattresses, and outdoor goods, July 4th is the correct event; Prime Day does not match July 4th depth in those categories.

See the shopping calendar for the full summer sale sequence and how to sequence purchases across July 4th and Prime Day.