Memorial Day is one of the biggest retail moments of the year in home improvement. Shoppers are ready to spend on outdoor projects, grilling products, lawn and garden accessories, and everything in between. It signals the true start of summer for most shoppers. Project lists are long, motivation is high and retailers are actively building out seasonal sets with displays designed to capture that energy in the aisle.
Why Memorial Day Is a Prime Moment for Pallets
A quarter pallet (or QP) is one of the most powerful and underutilized tools in a brand’s retail playbook. And Memorial Day is one of the best windows of the year to use it because retailers are looking for high-impact displays that drive traffic and move volume fast. That’s exactly what a well-designed quarter pallet can do. From The Home Depot’s Spring Black Friday events to Lowe’s seasonal promotions, this time of year creates a natural environment for pallets to shine.
The categories ripe for Memorial Day quarter pallet opportunities include outdoor power equipment, cleaning and pressure washing, paint and stain, lighting and electrical, grilling accessories, storage, and lawn and garden. If your brand touches any of these spaces, a seasonal pallet pitch should be on your radar, ideally 10 to 12 months in advance.
Don’t Forget the Pro
Memorial Day is not just a DIY moment. Professional contractors are deep into their busy season right now. Jobs are active, materials are moving and Pros are making quick buying decisions to keep projects on track. And don’t overlook the weekend factor. Pros shop on their days off, too, and Memorial Day weekend is no exception. A well-placed display can catch them in a buying mindset that mixes jobsite needs with personal project motivation.
A Pro-focused pallet looks different than a DIY one. Skip the lifestyle photos and inspirational messaging and instead lead with job-lot quantities, clear specs and jobsite efficiency. Since Pros typically bill materials back to the job, the better pitch is convenience and performance rather than price. Show the product being used in a real work setting and think about whether placement at The Home Depot’s Pro Desk or the Lowe’s Pro Service Desk makes more sense than on the standard seasonal floor.
If your product has a strong Pro story, Memorial Day is a great window to tell it.
The Bundle Blueprint: Making Every Bundle Worth the Buy
A great Memorial Day quarter pallet does two things: It solves a project need, and it makes the shopper feel like they got a deal. Here are two ways to build that into your offer from the start:
- Lead with a project, not a product. The most compelling quarter pallets are organized around a job to be done, not just a SKU to be sold. Think “Weekend-Ready Deck” rather than “Assorted Stains and Brushes.” When the bundle tells a clear project story, shoppers can immediately see themselves using it. That mental connection shortens the path to purchase.
- Design the display to sell from across the aisle. Graphic design on a quarter pallet is the silent salesperson. Keep the hierarchy clear and lead with the project use case, then the value message, then the key product benefits. Use photography that places the product in a real seasonal setting, such as a backyard deck build, a garage cleanup or a summer project in progress. And avoid overloading the display with copy – it only has about three seconds to earn a second look, so make them count.
Boost Baskets: Think Beyond the Tray
One of the most underused strategies in seasonal retail is connecting the in-store quarter pallet moment to online browsing behavior. The shoppers who notice your display in the aisle have often searched for your category online first. Brands that connect both touch points tend to see stronger overall performance. To boost baskets across channels, consider the following:
- Update your Product Information Pages (PIPs) to reflect the bundle offer and seasonal story before Memorial Day. Shoppers who research online and then buy in-store need to see the same message in both places.
- Use QR codes on the display to send shoppers to a how-to video, a project guide or a landing page with companion product suggestions. This extends the sell and supports trade-up.
- Build a simple “what else you need for this project” module into your digital shelf content so online shoppers see the same cross-sell logic that a great in-store associate would deliver.
- Support the pallet with short-form social content in the weeks leading up to Memorial Day. A 30-second reel showing the project in progress with the featured bundle can build awareness before the shopper even enters the store.
Team Up with the Right Partners
Some of the strongest seasonal quarter pallets are not built by a single brand. Co-branded or category-adjacent bundles, where two complementary products are featured together, can increase the appeal of the offer for both shoppers and retailers.
Think about natural project pairings in your category. A deck stain brand partnering with a brush and applicator brand. A pressure washer brand teaming with a cleaning solution supplier. A power tool brand bundling with safety gear or accessories from a complementary manufacturer. When the pairing makes sense for the project, both brands win on the shelf and end up in the shopper’s cart.
Before approaching a co-brand or partner or pitching a cross-category offer to a merchant, ask these questions:
- Do our customers naturally use both products in the same project?
- Are our brand values and price points aligned well enough to share real estate?
- Can both brands support the retailer with coordinated PIP content, promotional assets and in-store execution?
- Is the combined value proposition clear and compelling enough to justify the display footprint?
If the answer to all four questions is yes, the partnership is worth pursuing. Retailers are increasingly receptive to well-executed co-branded pitches because they simplify merchandising decisions and often drive stronger sell-through than single-branded displays in the same footprint.
Plan the Exit as Carefully as the Entrance
A winning quarter pallet program starts with a great offer and ends with a clear plan for what happens when the season winds down. Brands that go into the pitch with a clear exit strategy – whether that means returnability, a markdown plan, a transition to a different configuration or a permanent shelf placement pathway – are far more credible partners in the eyes of a merchant.
Memorial Day is a short window. The display needs to move volume fast. Build urgency into the offer from the start and build optionality into the conversation with the retailer so you are protected on the back end.
Porchlight’s Perspective
Memorial Day is a defined retail moment where brands that plan, bundle smart, and show up with a clear project story can generate significant incremental revenue and build stronger retailer relationships in the process. A strong quarter pallet is one of the most efficient investments a home improvement brand can make during this time. It earns floor space without displacing permanent shelf sets, creates visibility in high-traffic areas and gives retailers a turnkey solution they can execute quickly. When paired with updated digital shelf content and coordinated social support, the impact multiplies.
At Porchlight, we help brands develop the full quarter pallet program: the offer strategy, the display design, the pitch materials and the digital shelf content that connects the in-store moment to the online journey. If you want to make this Memorial Day your strongest seasonal retail performance yet, we would love to help you build it.