When to buy home appliances for less: a month-by-month calendar

In France, the best times to buy home appliances are usually the January sales, Black Friday in late November and, for large appliances, around the summer sales in late June. The worst situation isn't a particular month but an emergency purchase: a fridge that dies in a heatwave, an air conditioner bought mid-heatwave. Next big dates: Friday 27 November 2026 (Black Friday), then the winter sales from 6 January to 2 February 2027.

This guide brings together a month-by-month calendar, the best periods appliance by appliance with a link to each detailed guide, and what to check before paying: the energy label, take-back of your old appliance and total cost.

Best month to buy appliances: the calendar

These are usual patterns, not guarantees: a specific model can drop outside these windows, and some event "deals" aren't deals at all.

Month	Large appliances	Small and seasonal appliances
January	Good: winter sales, end-of-line and display models	Good: sales, clearance of unsold holiday gifts
February	Average: final markdowns, limited stock	Average
March – April	Average: range refreshes, outgoing models cleared	Good for an air conditioner, before summer demand
May	Average: occasional events (spring French Days in some years)	Average: air conditioners still in stock, wide choice
June	Good: calm buying before summer, summer sales at month end	Average: air conditioner demand rises with the first hot days
July	Average: summer sales, but summer breakdowns and stock shortages	Avoid buying an air conditioner mid-heatwave
August	Avoid: urgent purchases, limited choice	Average: end of sales, late-summer clearance
September	Average: back to school, autumn French Days in some years	Good for noting prices before year end
October	Average: price spotting, some clearance	Average: early pre-Black Friday offers
November	Good: Black Friday and Cyber Monday, check each offer	Good: Black Friday, a heavily promoted category
December	Average: some post-Black Friday offers	Average: strong gift demand, less flexible prices

The best time to buy, appliance by appliance

Each appliance has its own logic: seasonal breakdowns, holiday gifting, range refreshes. The table sums up the main lines; each guide covers the calendar and pitfalls in detail.

Appliance	Usually favourable	Avoid	Detailed guide
Washing machine	January sales, Black Friday, end-of-line models	Rushed buying after a breakdown	When to buy a washing machine
Fridge	January, June before the heat, Black Friday	July–August, peak breakdowns	When to buy a fridge
Dishwasher	Sales, Black Friday, end-of-line models	Buying without comparing the installed price	When to buy a dishwasher
Tumble dryer	Spring and summer, a quieter period; sales, Black Friday	Rainy autumn, when demand rises	When to buy a tumble dryer
Robot vacuum	Black Friday, sales, big retailer events	A just-launched model, rarely discounted	When to buy a robot vacuum
Cordless stick vacuum	Black Friday, sales, when a new generation arrives	"Exclusive" bundles that are hard to compare	When to buy a stick vacuum
Coffee machine	Black Friday, January sales	December, when gift demand is high	When to buy a coffee machine
Air fryer	Black Friday, January sales	Just before the holidays	When to buy an air fryer
Air conditioner	Spring, late summer and autumn	Heatwaves: shortages and busy installers	When to buy an air conditioner

Sales, Black Friday, French Days: which dates matter?

• Black Friday 2026: Friday 27 November, followed by Cyber Monday on Monday 30 November. Appliances are heavily featured, which is also when crossed-out prices mislead most.
• French winter sales 2027: Wednesday 6 January to Tuesday 2 February 2027, except in a few départements and overseas territories. The dates follow a ministerial order of 27 May 2019 setting four-week sales periods.
• French summer sales 2027: under the same rule, Wednesday 23 June to Tuesday 20 July 2027.
• French Days: the autumn 2026 edition ran from 7 to 14 September; 2027 dates haven't been announced yet.

Since 28 May 2022, the crossed-out price of a discount in France must be the lowest price the seller charged in the previous 30 days (article L112-1-1 of the Consumer Code, from the EU Omnibus directive). Helpful, but not enough: a price raised two months earlier can then be legally "cut". Only a longer price history shows whether a discount is real.

Large appliances: plan ahead instead of waiting for a breakdown

A washing machine, fridge or dishwasher is rarely replaced on a whim: it's replaced because it breaks. That's what makes it expensive, because you end up buying whatever can be delivered fast, without comparing.

• Watch for signs of wear (noises, leaks, cycles getting longer, unusual frost) and start shortlisting a replacement before it fails.
• Go for the outgoing model: when a range is refreshed, the older model, often very close to the new one, gets cleared.
• Compare spec sheets: if only the styling or a connected feature changes, the older model is often the better buy.

So the right moment to start tracking prices is when the appliance shows its first signs of fatigue: with a tool like UniverTrack, you'll have several weeks of price history by the day it really needs replacing.

Small and seasonal appliances: follow the demand

For small appliances, the calendar mostly follows demand. Coffee machines, air fryers and vacuums are popular gifts: they're often promoted on Black Friday, then less flexible on price in December. For seasonal appliances, the rule runs against instinct: buy an air conditioner in spring or autumn, and a tumble dryer when the weather is fine. In every case, brand-new models are rarely discounted; the previous generation is the best candidate for a genuine drop.

Energy label and durability index: what to look at

Since 1 March 2021, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and TVs sold in the EU carry an energy label on an A to G scale, with no A+ to A+++ classes. Tumble dryers moved to the new scale on 1 July 2025. An old A+++ appliance didn't get worse; the scale is simply stricter. Compare annual kWh consumption and noise level above all.

• Air conditioners: they have long used a scale going up to A+++, and a new label is being prepared at EU level. Compare the efficiency figures (SEER for cooling, SCOP for heating).
• Vacuum cleaners: they have had no mandatory energy label since January 2019, after the EU General Court annulled the regulation.
• France's durability index: a score out of 10 that is gradually replacing the repairability index. It has applied to TVs since 8 January 2025 and to washing machines since 8 April 2025.

Free take-back of your old appliance in France

When you buy a new electrical appliance in France, the seller must take back your old appliance of the same type for free, up to the number of items bought. This is the "one-for-one" take-back of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), set out in the Environmental Code. It also applies to online sales: collection then happens at the delivery address, and the seller must tell you the conditions before the sale.

For very small appliances (every external dimension under 25 cm), shops with at least 400 m² of sales space dedicated to electrical and electronic goods must also take them back free of charge with no purchase required. Before checking out online, make sure take-back is offered without hidden fees. Other EU countries run similar schemes; check the local rules where you live.

Total cost: don't compare the sticker price alone

For large appliances, the right price is the delivered, installed, old-unit-collected price. Add running costs: kWh per year × your price per kWh × years of use. Remember that the two-year legal guarantee of conformity applies anyway, and online purchases generally come with a 14-day right of withdrawal, with return costs sometimes yours to pay.

Put it into practice: buy your appliance at the right price

The calendar gives you trends; the price of your model is in its history. Watching it by hand over weeks and several retailers takes time, and a drop lasting a few days is easy to miss. UniverTrack handles that:

1. Paste the product link (Amazon, Cdiscount, and other retailer sites on a best-effort basis): a free preview shows its current price.
2. Set your target price: the price is checked regularly, a dated history builds up and an indicator flags the right time to buy.
3. Get the alert email and buy when the price is genuinely low, after comparing delivery and take-back.

To replace a single appliance, Découverte (up to 10 products) is enough. To equip a whole kitchen or dodge fake Black Friday discounts across many products, Malin adds fake-discount detection and the AI buying assistant. To compare the same washing machine at several retailers, Pro groups the links you add on one product page with the best offer. See pricing.

Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, no commitment, cancel in one click: start tracking your appliance now, well ahead of Black Friday.