Labor Day Shopping Specials for Seniors

How do you know if a deal is REALLY a deal? Here are the 6 how-to steps.

September 2, 2026 . 8:13 AM

3 min read

Labor Day isn't as deep and wide as Amazon Prime days or Black Friday, but there are things that are really a "deal" and not just marketing noise (like the "50 deals to shop now" kind of yadda).

SSD did some research on the possibilities, and, true, there's not a lot, but there might be some things you could use and would like to save some money on. Here's what we found.

Mattresses & Outdoor Furniture

Genuine peak pricing, on par with or beating Black Friday. Outdoor furniture and patio hit annual deepest cuts of 40-60% off at Labor Day rather than Memorial Day, while mattresses tie their yearly peak with Memorial Day and Presidents Day at 25-50% off.

Examples: 40% off Bear mattresses with code FORBES40, up to 60% off select styles at Crate & Barrel, up to 70% off furniture at Wayfair; also found - Nectar Classic Memory Foam up to 50% off, Saatva Classic Luxury Firm up to $625 off

Major Appliances

Decent, but not the best window. Appliances are worth buying if a purchase is already planned, though not worth rushing into purely for the sale. July 4 and Black Friday usually match or beat Labor Day appliance depth.

One shopping tracker did note refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges, and microwaves seeing 20-35% off, plus free haul-away of the old unit worth $50-150 in disposal fees — helpful for anyone on a fixed income.

Smart Senior Daily

How to Tell If a "Deal" Is Really a Deal

Look up the price history

Free tools like CamelCamelCamel show what an item actually sold for in past months.

Compare to the last big sale

Same price as July 4th with a new banner isn't a discount, it's a relabel.

Check what's included

A bigger discount that drops free extras may cost the same in the end.

Know if it's the right window

Mattresses and outdoor furniture peak now. Electronics peak at Black Friday.

Ignore the countdown clock

Real sales don't need a ticking timer. Sleep on it — the deal is usually still there tomorrow.

Ask for a better price in person

For big-ticket items like appliances, asking "is this the best you can do" often works, especially at local retailers.

A Smart Senior Daily quick-reference guide

Electronics/TVs/Laptops

Except for Amazon, skip entirely. The depth gap versus Black Friday runs 5 to 15 percentage points, so wait until November. Amazon does have a carousel of deals in this department that runs now through Labor Day.

Examples: This Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush 50% off; Amazon Echo Show nearly 30% off – perfect for families who want to keep in touch with each other (one person can use an Echo Show while the other person uses the Alexa app on an iPhone, Android phone, or Fire Tablet).