REI anniversary sale May 15–25

REI’s biggest sale of the year is about to start. But this year the story is not just sleeping pads, trail shoes, and a member coupon — it’s a labor fight landing right on top of the retailer’s most important spring shopping event. REI said on May 8 that its 2026 Anniversary Sale runs from May 15 through May 25, with deals on more than 6,000 products. At almost the same moment, unionized store workers were telling shoppers to stay away. ### What is REI actually offering? The headline deal is simple: 25% off REI Co-op brand clothing and gear for everyone, plus up to 25% off popular outdoor brands during the 11-day sale. REI is also teasing member-only offers and already has some early discounts live on its site, including markdowns on shoes, jackets, and camp gear. This is the event REI itself calls its biggest sale of the year. (rei.com) ### Why does this sale matter so much? Because this is the one a lot of outdoor shoppers wait for. REI runs promotions all year, but the Anniversary Sale is its marquee May event — the one that pulls in broad traffic across apparel, footwear, bikes, camping gear, and accessories. If you want one clean read on how eager customers feel about discretionary outdoor spending, this sale is a pretty good test. (rei.com) ### So what changed this week? The labor side escalated. Retail Dive reported on May 5 that the REI Union said it would boycott the Anniversary Sale after contract talks ended the prior week without an agreement. The union’s argument is basically that hitting the company during its highest-profile sales window is the only leverage workers have left if negotiations stall. (rei.com) ### How big is the union fight? It is not companywide, but it is not tiny either. Retail Dive said 11 REI stores have unionized. That matters because REI has spent years presenting itself as a values-led co-op brand, so even a limited labor dispute creates an outsized reputational problem. The gap between the brand image and the worker campaign is the whole point of the boycott strategy. (retaildive.com) ### Is REI under business pressure too? Yes — though not in a collapse way. REI reported flat sales and narrower losses, which means the company is not falling apart, but it is also not growing fast enough to make a public labor clash feel trivial. A boycott call during a major promo is more threatening when the business is already grinding for momentum. (retaildive.com) ### What should shoppers expect? Mostly a normal sale, especially online. But some stores could see picketing, leafleting, or other local labor actions during the May 15–25 window. The catch is that this will probably vary by city. Shoppers looking only for deals can still find them. Shoppers who care about the labor fight now have a pretty direct choice to make. (retaildive.com) ### Are the deals still likely to be good? Probably yes. REI is advertising thousands of markdowns, and its preview page already shows meaningful cuts on house-brand gear and major footwear labels. But the deeper story is not whether a chair is 25% off. It is that REI’s biggest annual sales event is now doubling as a test of how much pressure organized store workers can put on a co-op retailer in public. (retaildive.com) ### Bottom line If you were only planning your cart, the news is easy — the Anniversary Sale starts May 15. If you were watching REI as a company, the more important date may be May 5, when the boycott call turned a routine promo into a live referendum on the co-op’s labor politics. (retaildive.com) (rei.com)