The Best Time To Buy Furniture: Cheapest Months And Smartest Days To Shop

Buying new furniture is one of the best ways to completely update the look and function of your favorite rooms, but it's also one of the most expensive endeavors. Unlike easy home upgrades like adding a new light fixture or a fresh coat of paint, it can be hard to pull the trigger when it comes to investing in a new sofa, dining set, or other furniture purchase you'll live with for years. Since furniture pieces can be so expensive, many furniture shoppers are focused on the cheapest months and smartest days to shop. Although the best time to buy furniture depends on whether you're shopping for indoor or outdoor pieces, the cheapest months are usually near the end of winter or summer. You can also find great deals around certain holidays, like Labor Day or Black Friday, when furniture sales are in full swing.

The best furniture stores may distinguish themselves with great customer service and flawless delivery. However, all of them follow similar cycles based on slower sales after major holidays, end-of-season moments when it's time to clear out old stock, and long weekends when customers have come to expect promotional events. While you are unlikely to find deep discounts on custom-made furniture, understanding the biannual rhythm at furniture stores can help you score the best deals on showroom sets, floor model markdowns, and closeout items on clearance.

Furniture stores see a major drop in foot traffic after the holidays but still need to clear out older items to make room for new products. That makes January and February among the cheapest months to buy furniture. Along with deals on last year's living room or bedroom furniture set closeouts, President's Day sales in February tend to be a great time to score deeply discounted mattresses. 

Meanwhile, if you're shopping for patio and outdoor furniture, you have a couple of options. Memorial Day, Father's Day, and Fourth of July Sales may bring down the price of the patio set you've been eyeing. However, the cheapest months to buy outdoor furniture are actually September and October. Since retailers need to make floor and warehouse space for holiday decor items, you may be able to find extremely competitive pricing especially on open box or floor model items that haven't moved all summer.

Joining mailing lists or letting your furniture salesperson know you'll only be purchasing furniture when it's on sale are both great ways to avoid paying full price. So is circling Labor Day on your calendar, because it's common to find mattresses and outdoor furniture heavily discounted, sometimes up to 70%! Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals arrive a few months later, with many furniture store chain locations offering deep discounts to meet final annual sales goals. While it can be tricky to wrap a coffee table or put a couch under the tree, entertaining holiday guests is a great reason to grab a bargain price on a spacious new dining table or a few new side chairs.