Best Time to Buy Outdoor Furniture: End-of-Season and Holiday Deals (2026)

The best time to buy outdoor furniture depends on whether price or selection matters more. Late August through September brings 30-70% off clearance, with Labor Day as the top buying window. Early spring (March to May) offers the full range of styles before anything sells out.

Every spring, millions of shoppers make the same mistake: they walk into Home Depot or scroll through Wayfair in April, see full sticker prices, and just… pay them. Meanwhile, that same patio set goes on clearance in late August for 40-60% less. Outdoor furniture sales follow a predictable schedule. With the US outdoor furniture market expected to hit $7.41 billion in 2026, a lot of sales happen at specific times of the year, and knowing the pattern is worth real money.

Our team tracks coupon activity and deal cycles across thousands of retailers, and outdoor furniture is one of the most predictable categories out there. The markdown schedule is practically clockwork.

Price vs. Selection: The One Decision That Determines When You Should Shop

The core trade-off is simple: shop early for the widest selection, or shop late for the deepest discounts. Both approaches are valid. Which one makes sense for you depends on what you’re looking for.

Here’s how the year breaks down. Early season is February through April, when new collections arrive from manufacturers and floor displays get refreshed. You’ll find the full range of styles, colors, and configurations, and some stores run promotional prices to drive early traffic. Prices aren’t at their lowest, but you’re choosing from the complete catalog.

Peak season stretches from May through July. This is when outdoor furniture gets used the most, so demand is highest and retailers have no real incentive to discount. Memorial Day marks the first major sale of the season, and it’s worth watching, but prices stay relatively firm through the summer.

Then the late season kicks in. From August onward, retailers start refreshing floor displays for fall, which means clearance needs to happen in August and early September to make room. That’s the window where prices drop hard.

So the real question is: do you need it in time for summer, or are you willing to wait? If you buy in September, you might have to store the furniture for eight months before using it. For most buyers, that’s worth a 50-70% discount.

End-of-Season Clearance: The Best Window for Deep Discounts (August to October)

Late summer and early fall is the best time to buy outdoor furniture if you’re focused on price. Discounts of 30-70% off are standard here. The reason is simple: retailers need that floor space for fall and holiday merchandise, so outdoor inventory gets cleared out fast.

August is the entry point. Discounts typically run 30-50% off, and stock is still reasonably full. You can find complete sets, multiple color options, and accessories, though the best-selling configurations start to disappear first.

September is the sweet spot. After Labor Day, markdowns speed up to 50-70% off, especially on full sets and expensive pieces. This is when the price-to-selection ratio is strongest. By mid-September, the real steals are still findable, but you’ll need to move fast on anything you want in a specific style or color.

October is for the truly patient. Discounts can hit 80% or more, but the inventory is heavily picked over. You might find great prices on discontinued items or odd chairs without matching tables. This is a good time for buyers who are flexible.

Holiday Sale Events: What to Expect and When

Holiday sales create predictable discount windows throughout the year. Not all of them are equal for outdoor furniture, and it pays to know which ones actually deliver before you plan your purchase.

Presidents Day (February) typically offers 15-30% off. It’s the first real outdoor furniture sale of the year, timed to when new spring collections are hitting the shelves. You won’t find the deep cuts of late summer, but you will find the widest new selection.

Memorial Day (late May) means 20-40% off and is the biggest outdoor furniture sale of the spring. Memorial Day consistently drives strong outdoor furniture sales, and retailers treat it as their first major push on patio inventory. You get a good selection and solid discounts.

Fourth of July is mid-range, with 10-25% off, mostly on summer items. It’s decent if you need something now and missed Memorial Day, but don’t expect anything dramatic.

Labor Day (September) is the strongest holiday discount event for outdoor furniture, period. The typical range is 30-60% off, and the timing lines up perfectly with end-of-season clearance. You’re getting holiday promotional pricing on top of markdowns that were already happening. That combination makes Labor Day the single best holiday for this category.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are worth checking, but they can’t compete with Labor Day for outdoor furniture. Black Friday deals are usually 15-35% off on outdoor items, and Cyber Monday is around 10-30%. These sales are better for electronics, appliances, and indoor furniture. The outdoor inventory is pretty sparse by November anyway.

Early Spring Shopping: Best for New Arrivals and Full Selection (March to May)

If selection is your priority, March through May is your window. New collections land on the floor starting in March, meaning you’re choosing from complete lines before any styles or colors sell out.

Prices in March and early April are close to MSRP, but that’s the trade-off for getting first pick of the full catalog. If you have a specific set in mind or need a color that matches your existing decor, buying early is smart. You avoid the “sold out” messages that pop up in September.

Custom furniture buyers really need to think about this. Lead times for custom outdoor furniture typically run 4-12 weeks, depending on the brand. If you want a custom teak dining set for summer entertaining, ordering in March or early April is a safe bet. If you wait for a sale to order, your furniture might not arrive until October.

May is when Memorial Day promotions hit, and that’s the earliest point in the year where you can get meaningful discounts without sacrificing selection. It’s the best of both worlds if you’re on the fence: good stock, 20-40% off, ready to use within weeks.

Here’s something most guides miss: e-commerce growth has changed things. E-commerce-driven outdoor furniture sales have jumped by 22.3%, which means online inventory turns over faster than it used to. Styles that were available for months in a showroom can now sell out in days online. The early-season selection advantage has gotten stronger as more people buy online.

Winter Deals: Off-Season Bargains for Patient Shoppers (November to February)

November through February is the quietest time for outdoor furniture. For buyers who are flexible on style and willing to store pieces until spring, it’s worth a look. The time from post-Thanksgiving through January is when you can find the lowest prices of the year on leftover clearance stock.

The catch is obvious: selection is thin. By December, most popular styles are long gone. What’s left is usually discontinued designs, odd pieces from broken sets, and floor models. If you’re furnishing a deck and you need six matching chairs, the chances of finding all six in the same style in January are low.

But for single statement pieces, accent items, or buyers who just don’t care about a specific style, winter pricing can be exceptional. Online retailers like Wayfair tend to have better inventory off-season than brick-and-mortar stores since they aren’t limited by showroom floor space.

Black Friday online deals are worth checking for accessories and cushion replacements. Online bundles from large retailers can hit 15-35% off. And the post-Christmas period (December 26 through early January) sometimes has deep clearance pricing on sets that didn’t sell during the holidays.

Material Timing Guide: When Each Type Goes on Sale

Not all outdoor furniture materials follow the same discount schedule. Knowing when your preferred material gets marked down can help you plan better.

Teak is a premium material that holds its price better than almost anything else. The best windows for teak are spring (March, before the high-demand summer season) and fall (September, when end-of-season clearance applies even to premium pieces). Don’t expect the same 50-70% off that resin wicker gets. Teak sales are typically a shallower 20-35% off.

Resin wicker is the most sale-friendly material. It’s popular, widely stocked, and gets the deepest late-summer clearance discounts. August and September are ideal, with 40-60% off being common on complete sets.

Aluminum and poly lumber pieces are available year-round through online retailers. Best selection comes in early spring, and end-of-season clearance applies in late summer, though the discounts aren’t always as deep as with wicker.

Natural rattan (for indoor/outdoor hybrid pieces) tends to see better prices in fall and winter as retailers shift floor space toward indoor furniture. If you want rattan for a covered porch or sunroom, October through February can bring 30-50% off.

How to Stack Coupon Codes with Sale Pricing for Maximum Savings

Here’s something most outdoor furniture guides don’t mention: sales and promo codes often overlap. At the right retailers, you can stack them.

Many major furniture retailers let you apply a promo code on top of existing sale prices, including clearance. Wayfair, Home Depot, Target, and Crate & Barrel have all run promotions where an active code stacks with a marked-down item. The combined discount can push savings well beyond what either the sale or the code would deliver alone.

The strategy is straightforward. When Labor Day weekend arrives and a retailer is running 30-60% off outdoor furniture, check for active promo codes before you check out. In our coupon data, a pattern keeps showing up: outdoor furniture retailers tend to drop new codes in the week leading up to Labor Day, separate from the automatic sale pricing. Checking Wayfair coupon codes or Home Depot coupon codes during that window regularly turns up codes worth an extra 5-15% off.

The same logic applies to Presidents Day and Memorial Day. Both events bring sale pricing AND a fresh batch of newsletter and coupon codes. If you’re shopping during either of those times, grabbing a discount without checking for a stackable code is leaving money on the table.

One more angle: many brands send exclusive discount codes to their email newsletter subscribers 48-72 hours before a public sale goes live. Sign up for retailer newsletters in February or March. Before the season peaks, subscribers often get early access codes that the public won’t see until the main sale starts. If you’re targeting Memorial Day or Labor Day, sign up in advance.

If you’d rather not hunt for codes manually, the DontPayFull extension tests available ones automatically at checkout for thousands of retailers, including the major furniture sellers.

Where to Find the Best Outdoor Furniture Deals

Online retailers give you the broadest selection and year-round access to clearance tabs. Wayfair has the largest online clearance section for outdoor furniture, and the markdowns update continuously. Amazon carries a wide range, especially from brands like Flash Furniture and Best Choice Products, and its late-summer clearance pricing is real. Target’s outdoor section is smaller but prices competitively, and Target often runs stackable coupon codes on home goods.

Big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s run predictable end-of-season clearance. Both stores typically mark down floor inventory in August and push clearance through September. The advantage of shopping in-store is that you can inspect pieces before buying, which matters for assembled sets. Check for Lowe’s coupon codes before you head in.

For higher-end pieces, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and Williams-Sonoma all have outdoor collections. These brands discount less aggressively than mass-market retailers, but their semi-annual sales (usually Memorial Day and Labor Day) do have meaningful markdowns. Their online outlet sections are worth bookmarking.

Local showroom floor models are an underrated source. Showrooms replace floor models when new collections arrive in the spring, which means you can find display pieces for 30-50% off in late winter and early spring. You’re buying something that has been on display, so inspect it for wear, but the price is often well below what you’d find online.

Frequently Asked Questions

What month does patio furniture go on sale?

Patio furniture goes on sale throughout the year, but the best discounts are in August and September. August typically brings 30-50% off as stores start clearing out summer inventory. September is the peak month, with discounts often hitting 50-70% off, especially after Labor Day. October has the deepest discounts (up to 80%+) but with very limited selection.

Is Labor Day really the best time to buy patio furniture?

Yes. Labor Day is the best holiday for buying outdoor furniture because it combines planned holiday sales with the natural end-of-season clearance cycle. You can get 30-60% off during a window when markdowns were already happening. Black Friday and Cyber Monday don’t come close for this category, because by late November, most outdoor inventory is gone.

When does outdoor furniture go on clearance at Home Depot?

Home Depot usually begins its outdoor furniture clearance in August, with markdowns getting bigger through September. The timing follows the broader retail pattern of making room for fall and holiday merchandise. Your best bet is to check the clearance section in-store and online from mid-August onward. Pricing can vary by store.

How much can you save on outdoor furniture during end-of-season sales?

The typical range is 30-70% off during late summer and early fall clearance. August usually delivers 30-50% off, September runs 50-70%, and October can go past 80% on whatever is left. The biggest discounts are on discontinued styles and pieces from sets where other items have already sold out.

Should I wait until winter to buy outdoor furniture?

Only if you’re flexible about style. Winter (November through February) has the lowest prices of the year on leftover stock, but the selection is very limited. If you need a complete, matching set in a specific style, waiting is risky. If you’re fine with whatever is left and price is your only priority, January can have some excellent deals.

Are Black Friday deals good for outdoor furniture?

They’re decent, but not the best. Black Friday sales are usually 15-35% off for outdoor furniture, and it’s mostly online-only. That’s a real discount, but it’s much less than what you’d find on Labor Day weekend, and the inventory by late November is thin. Black Friday is better for indoor furniture, electronics, and appliances.

When is the best time to buy a gazebo?

Gazebos follow the same seasonal pattern as other outdoor furniture. Late summer (August to September) has the deepest discounts, often 30-60% off. The difference is that gazebos involve assembly and installation, so buying in August gives you time to set it up before the season ends. October’s prices might be lower, but you’d be buying something you can’t use until next spring.

Can you negotiate patio furniture prices in-store?

At independent patio shops and showrooms, yes. Big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s don’t usually negotiate on new items, but they might on floor models. Your best angle at any store is timing. If a set has been sitting on the floor since March and it’s now September, a manager is more likely to go below the sticker price to move it.

Do luxury outdoor brands ever go on sale?

Yes, luxury brands like Restoration Hardware and Frontgate do have sales, but the discounts are smaller and less predictable than at mass-market stores. Expect 20-30% off during their semi-annual sales, not the 50-70% you’d find at Wayfair. The outlet sections on their websites are worth checking year-round for discontinued items at 40-50% off.

Sources

1. Mordor Intelligence – US Outdoor Furniture Market Report: US outdoor furniture market size and CAGR projections to 2031 (2026)
2. Lugg Blog – Best Time to Buy Furniture: Retailer floor display refresh cycles per NRF, seasonal discount windows (2026)
3. Sims Furniture Co – Why Now Is the Best Time to Score Outdoor Furniture: August-September discount percentages and late-season buying strategy (2025)
4. National Retail Federation – NRF.com: Memorial Day outdoor furniture sales data and consumer spending trends
5. Technavio – Outdoor Furniture Market in US Industry Analysis: E-commerce-driven outdoor furniture sales growth of 22.3% (2025)
6. Life By Leadership – What Time of Year Does Patio Furniture Go on Sale: Holiday discount ranges by event, month-by-month breakdown (2025)
7. Walsunny – Best Time to Buy Patio Furniture in 2026: Three-phase buying calendar framework for 2026 (2026)

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