Labor Day Shoppers Plan $341 Average Spend, With Groceries First on the List

Two Labor Day Surveys Find Shoppers Prioritizing Groceries and DIY Projects

Two surveys released just before the U.S. Labor Day weekend offer an early read on how consumers say they intend to spend. In a RetailMeNot poll, 73% of U.S. shoppers said they plan to show up for Labor Day sales, but their priorities look more like a weekly stock-up than a holiday splurge. Nearly half of respondents — 42% — placed groceries and essential goods at the top of their list. That put groceries 16 percentage points ahead of clothing and footwear and well ahead of every other category measured.

The rest of the shopping list is more traditional for a holiday weekend. Clothing and footwear tied with seasonal summer clearance goods at 26%, followed by health and wellness products at 21%, home improvement at 20%, and several smaller categories such as beauty, grills, back-to-school supplies and electronics at between 15% and 18%. At the same time, 27% of shoppers said they do not plan to participate in Labor Day sales at all. The average planned spend across respondents was $341.

A separate Vevor survey focused specifically on Labor Day home improvement projects. That poll was limited to adults with household incomes of at least $75,000, and Vevor itself is a home improvement brand, so its findings reflect a more affluent subset of shoppers. Among that group, 35% said they already have a specific home improvement or property-related project planned, and another 17% said they were very likely to take on one. Of the 243 project planners doing at least some DIY work, half expected to spend at least $500 on tools, equipment, materials and supplies, while 34% expected to spend more than $1,000 and 13% more than $2,500. The most common projects were lawn, yard and garden improvements at 48%, followed by outdoor cooking or entertaining areas and garage, workshop or storage projects at 35% each.

Why Retailers' Labor Day Lists Look Different This Year

The combined picture is not a collapse in consumer spending, but a shift in what shoppers are willing to buy during a promotional weekend. The difference between the two surveys also matters: one captures broad self-reported intentions, while the other captures a narrower, higher-income DIY audience.

Why Groceries Are Beating Clothing and Footwear

RetailMeNot's finding that 42% of shoppers plan to prioritize groceries and essentials is significant because it changes the logic of a sales event. Labor Day promotions are typically built around clearance, back-to-school and big-ticket items. This year, the top category is replenishment. The $341 average spend supports that interpretation: it is large enough for a planned stock-up, but not large enough to suggest a broad discretionary splurge. RetailMeNot insights expert Stephanie Carls framed it as a shopper who knows the mattress deal exists but decides the budget is better spent on what the household needs that week.

What the Vevor Home Improvement Data Does and Doesn't Show

The Vevor survey points to genuine enthusiasm for DIY projects among households earning $75,000 or more. More than half expressed interest in a Labor Day project, and the expected spending levels are notable: half of DIY planners anticipate spending at least $500, and a third expect to top $1,000. However, the sample is not representative of all U.S. consumers. Because Vevor sells home improvement products and restricted its survey to higher-income adults, the results should be read as a signal about a specific, relatively comfortable consumer segment rather than a broad home-improvement boom.

The Consumer Signal Behind the $341 Average

The $341 average and the 27% non-participation rate suggest a more selective Labor Day shopper. Retailers may still find demand in clearance categories such as clothing, footwear and summer goods, but that demand is likely to come from deal-focused shoppers rather than impulse buyers. The data does not indicate that discretionary spending has disappeared; it indicates that essentials are crowding the front of the list and that many shoppers are approaching the weekend with a specific list in mind.

Where Retailers and Brands Still Have Labor Day Opportunities

• Grocery and essential-goods retailers should make stock-up offers and replenishment lists the centerpiece of Labor Day marketing: 42% of shoppers plan to prioritize groceries, and groceries outrank clothing and footwear by 16 percentage points.
• Clearance-focused retailers should keep clothing, footwear and summer clearance prominent, since each category attracts 26% of planned purchases and may benefit from less competition for deal hunters.
• Big-ticket and furniture retailers should expect a weekend in which many shoppers know the promotion exists but choose weekly essentials instead; the $341 average is a stock-up number, not a furniture-buying number.
• Home improvement brands should target households above $75,000 with DIY bundles for lawn, yard and garden projects, outdoor cooking areas, and garage or storage work — the categories cited by 48% and 35% of project planners.
• Marketing budgets should account for the 27% of shoppers who say they will not participate; outreach is likely to be more efficient if aimed at list-driven buyers and known intenders rather than broad awareness campaigns.