Retailers typically host their biggest sales of the season during long holiday weekends, but you don’t have to wait until the next one to shop for deals. Many of our favorite spring sales are just days away, like Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, Walmart’s Super Savings Week and Target Circle Week. Others, like Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty and Wayfair’s Spring Cyber Week, have already begun.

Knowing what to buy and skip is essential to saving during spring sales, especially if you’re tightening your budget due to tariffs and inflation. I’ve been covering sales for five years at NBC Select, so I compiled this shopping guide to help you prepare and consulted experts about their top tips.

SKIP AHEAD The best spring sales to shop|What to buy|What to skip |Is shopping spring sales worth it?| How to save the most during spring sales| Why trust NBC Select?

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The best spring sales to shop

Here are a few of the biggest spring sales you should have on your radar, some of which are only open to loyalty members. To stay updated about them, I recommend signing up for retailers’ SMS and email lists — that’s how they’ll notify you about new discounts, limited-time promos and extended offers.

• Amazon’s Spring Sale is from March 25 to 31. It’s open to all shoppers, but Prime members get access to exclusive deals.
• Target Circle Week is from March 23 to 29. It’s open to all Target Circle members, but Target Circle 360 members get early access to the sale on March 22. You can shop the sale online and in stores.
• Walmart’s Spring Savings Sale is from March 24 to April 1. It’s open to all shoppers, and it’s an online-only event.
• Lowe’s SpringFest is now until April 2. It’s open to all shoppers, but MyLowe’s Rewards members get access to exclusive deals. You can shop the sale online and in stores.
• Wayfair Spring Cyber Week is now until March 25. It’s open to all shoppers.
• Ulta 21 Days of Beauty is now until March 27. It’s open to all shoppers. You can shop the sale online and in stores.

What to buy during spring sales

Most spring sales focus on helping you prepare for the season ahead, so the best deals are on products you’ll need for the warm weather, says Stephanie Carls, a retail insights expert at RetailMeNot.

• Spring clothes and footwear: “Expect sales on spring apparel for men, women and children to overlap with winter clearance,” says Vipin Porwal, the CEO and a consumer savings expert at Smarty. Brands often discount this season’s styles by about 10% to 30%, and drop prices on season’s styles even more to move them off shelves. Porwal specifically recommends looking for deals on running shoes and spring activewear.
• Spring cleaning supplies: 52% of shoppers plan on spring cleaning this season, according to a recent survey by RetailMeNot — if you’re one of them, you’ll find lots of cleaning and home improvement supplies on sale across retailers. Look for discounts on sprays and scrubs, vacuums and steam cleaners, as well as products to refresh the look of your home, like area rugs, window treatments and bedding, says Porwal.
• Gardening tools: This is the best time of year to save on anything garden-related, like plants, lawn seeds, bulbs, pots, raised beds, mulch, fertilizer and tools, says Carls. You’ll also see deals on patio furniture and outdoor lighting.
• Beauty and skin care: “Many retailers in the beauty and skin care world have sales at this time of year as new scents and products come out for the spring and summer seasons,” says Carls.

What to skip during spring sales

It’s tempting to start browsing grills, pool supplies, bathing suits, sandals, fans and air conditioners as soon as it’s consistently sunny, but don’t stock up on these summer-related products just yet. Retailers are just starting to sell the newest models, so you won’t see strong discounts on them until the middle to end of summer, says Carls.

Unlike three-day holiday weekends, the spring sales happening now are not a lucrative time to shop for big-ticket home items like appliances, mattresses and furniture, says Porwal. If you have those products on your wish list, wait to buy them until Memorial Day sales start toward the end of May. You also won’t see great tech deals during spring sales, says Carls. Hold off on adding TVs, speakers, computers, tablets and headphones to your cart until Amazon Prime Day, which is typically in July, and back-to-school sales.

Is shopping spring sales worth it?

All the experts I spoke to agree that shopping spring sales is worth it for two main reasons:

1. The next time you’ll see site- and store-wide sales from tons of retailers is Memorial Day (May 26), which is about two months away. Spring sales are your best opportunity to save on products across categories until then.
2. Tariffs and inflation are putting economic pressure on households, especially because the prices of essential items like groceries keep rising. This is chipping away at people’s ability to send on non-essential goods and services, causing them to have an overall negative outlook on the economy, says Shannon Grein, an economist at Wells Fargo. In fact, 49% of Americans opt to buy less amid recent tariff news, according to a recent survey by Smarty. That’s why shopping spring sales are so beneficial — it helps you buy what’s on your wishlist, be it essential or non-essential, while being budget-conscious.

How to save the most during spring sales

Knowing what to buy and skip is only one aspect of strategic shopping. To get the most out of spring sales, follow the tips below, too.

• Sign up for email lists or SMS programs to stay updated about your favorite brands’ and retailers’ spring sales. They use these platforms to contact shoppers quickly, and some offer exclusive discount codes.
• Enroll in loyalty programs like Amazon Prime, Walmart+ and Target Circle if you want to take advantage of member-exclusive deals. Some loyalty programs offer free memberships, too.
• Compare prices on items across similar retailers to ensure you’re getting the lowest price possible. “Anytime you have pretty much all retailers throwing sales, you want to check out the competition’s price before you buy,” says Carls. “In addition to price tags, look at shipping fees and promo codes. If another retailer has a promo code that gets you an additional 10% off, or includes the item you want in a buy one, get one offer, you’ll be glad you checked.”
• Activate cash-back offers so you can get refunded for a percentage of your spending.
• Consider paying with a credit card, especially for larger items, so you can earn points or take advantage of other special offers.

Meet our experts

At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

• Stephanie Carls is a retail insights expert at RetailMeNot, a deal-finding and cash-back site.
• Vipin Porwal is the CEO and a consumer savings expert at Smarty, a cashback browser extension.
• Shannon Grein is an economist at Wells Fargo.

Why trust NBC Select?

I’m a reporter at NBC Select who has covered sales and deals for five years, including Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To write this article, I interviewed three experts about what to buy and skip during spring sales from Amazon, Target, Walmart and more. I also rounded up tips about how to save the most money while shopping.

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