The sale season is right around the corner. Whether it’s Black Friday, Labor Day, or Memorial Day, customers are primed and ready to buy. But in a competitive market, simply slashing prices isn’t enough. To stand out, capture attention, and truly maximize revenue, you need a strategic approach to your promotions.

A well-executed sale can do more than just clear out old inventory; it can attract new customers, increase average order value, and build long-term loyalty. The key is to vary your approach and use the right promotion for the right goal.

Ready to build a winning sales strategy? Here are eight types of promotions you should try on your furniture retail website this season.

1. Product Discounts: The Tried-and-True Classic

This is the most straightforward and recognized type of promotion. You select specific items—a best-selling sofa, a new line of mattresses, or last season’s appliances—and offer a direct percentage or dollar amount off.

How it works: Product discounts are easy for customers to understand and act on. A clear “Was $1,999 / Now $1,499” is a powerful visual cue that immediately communicates value.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Use this method to create “doorbuster” deals on high-visibility items like sectional sofas or popular refrigerator models. Highlighting a steep discount on a single, desirable product can drive significant traffic to your entire site.

2. Flash Sales: Create Powerful Urgency

A flash sale is a promotion that runs for a very limited time—typically just a few hours or a single day. The goal is to leverage the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and encourage shoppers to make a quick purchase decision.

How it works: The tight deadline creates a sense of urgency that short-circuits the long consideration period often associated with big-ticket items like furniture and mattresses.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Promote your flash sale heavily on social media and via your email list in the 24 hours leading up to the event. A “24-Hour Flash Sale: 40% Off All Accent Chairs” is a perfect way to generate a quick burst of revenue and excitement.

3. Cart Discounts: Encourage Bigger Purchases

Instead of discounting individual products, a cart discount applies to the customer’s entire order once it reaches a certain threshold. For example, “Save $200 on any order over $2,000” or “15% off your entire purchase of $1,500+.”

How it works: This strategy is brilliant for increasing your Average Order Value (AOV). It incentivizes customers who were planning to buy a single big-ticket item, like a bed frame, to add on the matching nightstands or a new mattress to reach the discount tier.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Align your discount thresholds with logical product pairings. If your average sofa sells for $1,800, set a threshold at $2,200 to encourage the addition of a coffee table or rug.

4. Product Category Discounts: Move Strategic Inventory

Discounting an entire category gives you more control over your inventory. Instead of a storewide sale that might cut into your margins on new arrivals, you can focus on specific departments.

How it works: This is perfect for clearing out seasonal stock (e.g., “30% Off All Outdoor Patio Sets”) or boosting a category that needs more attention (“20% Off All Home Office Furniture”).

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Use category discounts to introduce customers to new collections. If you’ve just launched a new mid-century modern dining line, a category-wide sale is a great way to generate initial buzz and sales.

5. Free Shipping Offers: Remove the Biggest Barrier to Buying

For large items like furniture, mattresses, and appliances, shipping costs are a major pain point for customers and a leading cause of cart abandonment. Offering free shipping can be an even more powerful incentive than a discount.

How it works: Removing the shipping fee simplifies the final price for the customer and eliminates an unwelcome surprise at checkout.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Be specific. Instead of just “Free Shipping,” try “Free White-Glove Delivery on all Bedroom Sets.” This not only removes the cost barrier but also adds a premium value proposition, as customers know their new furniture will be delivered and set up for them.

6. User-Specific or Personalized Discounts: Build Customer Loyalty

Personalized discounts are tailored offers that vary from one customer to another based on their browsing history, past purchases, or loyalty status.

How it works: Your e-commerce platform and CRM can track customer behavior. You can send a targeted email to a customer who viewed a specific dining table with a unique 10% off coupon for that item. Or, you can reward your top 100 customers with an exclusive “VIP 25% Off” code.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Use this to encourage repeat business. If a customer recently bought a sofa, send them a personalized offer a few weeks later for “15% off any coffee table or accent chair to complete your living room.”

7. Coupon Discounts: Track Your Marketing Efforts

Coupon codes are a versatile and highly trackable way to run a sale. You can create unique codes that offer a specific discount and can be configured to work only under certain conditions (e.g., for specific products, minimum purchase amounts, or expiration dates).

How it works: A customer simply enters the code (e.g., HOLIDAY20) at checkout to receive their discount.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Use different coupon codes for different marketing channels. Create one code for your Facebook ads, another for your email newsletter, and a third for a podcast sponsorship. This allows you to precisely track which channels are driving the most sales and measure your ROI effectively.

8. Private Sales for Customers: Make Your Audience Feel Exclusive

An exclusive sale, accessible only to existing customers or email subscribers, is a fantastic way to foster a sense of community and reward loyalty.

How it works: Announce a “VIP Customer Appreciation Sale” to your email list. To access the discounts, users must log in to their account on your website. This makes your subscribers feel special and gives non-subscribers a powerful reason to sign up.

Pro-Tip for Furniture Retailers: Grant your loyal customers “early access” to your biggest sales. Send an email giving them a 24-hour head start on your Black Friday deals before you announce them to the general public.

Which Promotion Will You Try First?

The most successful retailers don’t rely on a single type of promotion. They build a dynamic sales calendar that incorporates a mix of these strategies to achieve different goals—from clearing inventory and increasing AOV to acquiring new customers and rewarding their loyal fans.

Start planning today. By testing and combining these promotions, you can create a powerful sales season that drives revenue and strengthens your brand.