When Do Black Friday Ads Come Out? The 2026 Release Calendar (Projected From 2025)
McKenna Harmony-Greer, Deals Editor
Published September 2, 2026✓ Deals verified September 3, 2026
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Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. The ads don't come out on one day anymore. In 2025 the first retailer (Best Buy) published its schedule on October 20 and the last main ad (Home Depot) landed November 26. Expect the same window in 2026: roughly October 19 to November 25. Nothing has been announced yet.
Last updated: September 2, 2026. Every 2026 retailer date below is projected unless we say otherwise. The one confirmed item is Best Buy's own Black Friday page, which tells shoppers to drop November 27 into their calendar. That's the holiday date, not a sale start.
Are there Black Friday ads anymore?
Yes, but there are two kinds now. The first kind is the traditional ad scan: a page-by-page PDF. Costco's 2025 ad ran 32 pages, Target's main event ad ran 80, Sam's Club's ran 50, and Home Depot, Lowe's, GameStop and JCPenney all published scans too. The second kind is a press release and a deals page. Best Buy, Amazon and Macy's work this way. Walmart is mostly press releases too: two corporate announcements plus a deal preview.
You'll still see the old answer repeated everywhere: the ads show up in the newspaper the day before Thanksgiving. A Facebook neighborhood thread saying exactly that ranks for this query right now, and so does a spam page sitting on a hijacked university subdomain. That answer describes the last thing to arrive, not the first. By Halloween 2025, six retailers had already published an ad or a full schedule: Best Buy (October 20), Costco (October 21), Sam's Club preview (October 22), Walmart (October 27), Lowe's (October 29) and Target (October 30).
The ads are also changing shape. Kohl's 2025 ad was 20 pages, down from more than 40 the year before. Meanwhile Best Buy's Black Friday page is where the company's announcements live, because it stopped printing scans in favor of press releases and on-site deal posts.
Black Friday 2026 dates, with the arithmetic
Federal statute fixes Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November (5 U.S.C. § 6103). November 1, 2026 is a Sunday, so the Thursdays fall on November 5, 12, 19 and 26. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Black Friday is Friday, November 27 and Cyber Monday is Monday, November 30. December 1, 2026 is a Tuesday.
| Event | 2026 date | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving | Thursday, November 26 | Fourth Thursday: Nov 5, 12, 19, 26 |
| Black Friday | Friday, November 27 | Day after Thanksgiving |
| Small Business Saturday | Saturday, November 28 | |
| Cyber Monday | Monday, November 30 | Dec 1, 2026 is a Tuesday |
| Black Friday 2027 | Friday, November 26 | |
| Black Friday 2028 | Friday, November 24 |
Two things ranking for this query get the calendar wrong, and it's worth seeing how. A holiday-calendar site's Cyber Monday page is titled "December 1, 2026" in Google's listing, and December 1, 2026 is a Tuesday. Worse, a machine-generated page ranking for "black friday ad leaks 2026" states that the "official ad drop occurs Friday, November 15, 2026." November 15, 2026 is a Sunday. The same page cites a "65% accuracy" figure. We'd treat every number on that page as invented.
Best Buy is the only major retailer that has printed a 2026 date anywhere: November 27, on its own Black Friday page. No start dates, no ad dates, from anyone, as of September 2, 2026.
When did the 2025 Black Friday ads actually come out?
Here's the retailer-by-retailer record for 2025, sorted by who moved first, with our projection for 2026. Every 2026 cell is our arithmetic, not an announcement.
| Retailer | 2025 ad release | 2025 sale start | Projected 2026 ad release | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy | Mon Oct 20 (press release; no scan) | Fri Oct 31 doorbusters; official sale Thu Nov 20 | ~Mon Oct 19 (press release) | Same weekday as 2025; 2024 was Nov 7 so Medium |
| Costco | Tue Oct 21 (32-page scan surfaced; 9to5Toys write-up Oct 25) | Fri Oct 31 early sale; Holiday Savings Mon Nov 17 | ~Tue Oct 20 (range Oct 19-23) | 2025 Oct 21 and 2023 Oct 24, but 2024 was ~Nov 10; Medium |
| Sam's Club | Wed Oct 22 preview; 50-page ad Thu Nov 6 | Fri Nov 7 | ~Oct 21 preview; ~Nov 5 full ad | One year of data; Medium |
| Walmart | Mon Oct 27 (press release); Mon Nov 17 (main-event release); Mon Nov 24 (deal preview) | Fri Nov 14 (Event 1); Tue Nov 25 online / Fri Nov 28 in store (Event 2) | ~Mon Oct 26; ~Mon Nov 16; ~Mon Nov 23 | 2024 Oct 28 / Nov 21 and 2025 Oct 27 / Nov 24 agree on last Monday of October and Thanksgiving-week Monday; High |
| Lowe's | Wed Oct 29 (4-page early); Wed Nov 5 (15-page early); by Tue Nov 25 (8-page main) | Thu Oct 30 early; Thu Nov 27 online / Fri Nov 28 in store main | ~Oct 28; ~Nov 4; ~Nov 24 | One year verified; 2024 not verified; Medium |
| Target | Thu Oct 30 (press release); Fridays Nov 7, 14, 21 (weekly ads); Thu Nov 20 (press release); Sat Nov 22 (80-page main ad) | Sun Nov 2 weekly deals; Thu Nov 6 early sale; Sun Nov 23 Black Friday week | ~Thu Oct 29 announcement; weekly ads Fridays from ~Nov 6; main ad ~Nov 19-21 | Oct 30 both years; main ad Nov 21 (2024) and Nov 22 (2025); High |
| Home Depot | Wed Nov 5 (12-page early); Wed Nov 26 (10-page main) | Thu Nov 6 early; Thu Nov 27 online / Fri Nov 28 in store | ~Wed Nov 4; ~Wed Nov 25 | One year verified; 2024 not verified; Medium |
| Macy's | Thu Nov 6 (press release; no scan) | Sun Nov 2 Parade of Deals; Mon Nov 10 early access; Sun Nov 23 Black Friday week | ~Thu Nov 5 (press release) | One verified year; Medium |
| JCPenney | First week of November (reports range Nov 2-8; 24 pages) | Fri Nov 7 early access; main sale Nov 20 or 21 (sources disagree) | ~First week of November | Disputed 2025 day; Low |
| Kohl's | Fri Nov 7 (20-page scan) | Fri Nov 7 early access; Sun Nov 23 main sale | ~Nov 4-6 | Nov 5 (2024) and Nov 7 (2025); High |
| Amazon | ~Mon Nov 10 (press release with dates); Wed Nov 19 (deal preview); no scan | Thu Nov 20, 12:01 a.m. PST | ~Mon Nov 9 dates; ~Wed Nov 18 preview | One verified year; Medium |
| GameStop | Sun Nov 16 (~20-page scan) | Sun Nov 16 early; waves Nov 20, 23, 27 | ~Nov 15 | One verified year; Medium |
A note on Target's row, because we'd rather flag it than fudge it: Target's own announcement says new deals land every Sunday, previewed on Fridays in the Target Weekly Ad, and we verified the Friday, November 14 ad (50 pages) directly. The November 7 and 21 weekly ads fit that pattern but weren't individually verified, so read that cell as Target's own stated rhythm plus one confirmed instance.
The whole 2025 season ran 38 days, from Best Buy's October 20 announcement to Home Depot's November 26 main ad. If you're the sort of person who wants one correction to carry out of this article, make it this one: most pages tell you to wait until Thanksgiving week. Six retailers had already published by Halloween.
In 2025 Lowe's released a 4-page early ad on October 29, a 15-page ad on November 5 and an 8-page main ad by November 25, with early deals starting October 30. You can see the pattern yourself on Lowe's Black Friday deals page.
Costco's scan, by the way, is traditionally the first big one to surface, and its dates get posted on Costco's Black Friday page. But "Costco always goes first in late October" is a pattern, not a law: it held in 2023 (October 24) and 2025 (October 21) and failed in 2024, when the ad didn't show until about November 10. Also worth knowing: Target's deals cycle on Sundays, with each week's Target Black Friday hub previewing them the Friday before, and Kohl's early access opens the same day its Kohl's Black Friday deals drop.
For press-release-only retailers, the hub is all there is. Macy's publishes no scan, so Macy's Black Friday deals is the only place its offers collect. The same is close to true for Walmart, whose preview posts at Walmart's Black Friday deals page.
How 2025 compared with 2024
The pattern is clear when you put the two years side by side. Announcements are creeping earlier. The main ads hold steady in the Thursday-to-Monday stretch before Thanksgiving.
| Retailer | 2024 ad or announcement | 2025 ad or announcement | Moved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy | Thu Nov 7, 2024 | Mon Oct 20, 2025 | 18 days earlier |
| Costco | ~Sun Nov 10, 2024 (Oct 24 in 2023) | Tue Oct 21, 2025 | About 3 weeks earlier |
| Walmart (first announcement) | Mon Oct 28, 2024 | Mon Oct 27, 2025 | Same week |
| Walmart (main ad) | Thu Nov 21, 2024 | Mon Nov 24, 2025 | Same relative week |
| Target (announcement) | Wed Oct 30, 2024 | Thu Oct 30, 2025 | Same date |
| Target (main ad) | Thu Nov 21, 2024 (85 pages) | Sat Nov 22, 2025 (80 pages) | Same relative week |
| Kohl's | Tue Nov 5, 2024 (40 pages) | Fri Nov 7, 2025 (20 pages) | Two days later; half the pages |
Best Buy's move is the standout. It went from a November 7, 2024 schedule announcement to October 20, 2025, eighteen days earlier, and it now folds Black Friday into a Halloween-onward chain of Friday doorbusters (October 31, November 7, 14, 21 and 28 in 2025).
What we couldn't pin down
Three gaps, stated plainly. We couldn't verify Home Depot's 2024 ad dates this pass. Same for Lowe's 2024. And JCPenney's 2025 ad day is genuinely disputed: deal sites log it anywhere from November 2 to November 8, and even the main sale start splits between November 20 and 21 across sources. We've written "first week of November" rather than pretend to a day we can't confirm. Macy's 2024 and GameStop 2024 dates floated in older writeups also went unverified, so we left them out.
Projected 2026 Black Friday ad release dates (not confirmed)
The method, in one sentence: take each retailer's 2025 weekday, which is one calendar day earlier in 2026 because Thanksgiving moves from November 27 to November 26. Confidence is High when two years agree within a few days, Medium for one solid year or a moving target, Low where the 2025 date itself is disputed. Every row below is projected. None of these are announced as of September 2, 2026.
| Retailer | Projected 2026 ad release | Confidence | Status (as of Sept 2 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy | ~Oct 19 schedule announcement; doorbusters Fridays from ~Oct 30 | Medium | Black Friday date (Nov 27) confirmed on bestbuy.com; start dates not announced |
| Costco | ~Oct 19-23 ad scan | Medium | not announced |
| Sam's Club | ~Oct 21 preview; ~Nov 5 full ad | Medium | not announced |
| Walmart | ~Oct 26 announcement; ~Nov 16 main-event release; ~Nov 23 deal preview | High | not announced |
| Lowe's | ~Oct 28 early ad; ~Nov 4 second early ad; ~Nov 24 main ad | Medium | not announced |
| Target | ~Oct 29 announcement; weekly ads Fridays; ~Nov 19-21 main ad | High | not announced |
| Home Depot | ~Nov 4 early ad; ~Nov 25 main ad | Medium | not announced |
| Macy's | ~Nov 5 press release | Medium | not announced |
| JCPenney | First week of November | Low | not announced |
| Kohl's | ~Nov 4-6 ad scan | High | not announced |
| Amazon | ~Nov 9 dates announced; ~Nov 18 deal preview | Medium | not announced |
| GameStop | ~Nov 15 ad scan | Medium | not announced |
Two events usually front-run all of this. Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days ran October 7-8 in 2025, and Target's fall Circle Week ran October 5-11. Neither 2026 date has been announced, so don't trust any page that prints one.
When should I start looking for Black Friday deals?
Put the third week of October in your calendar. That's when the first schedules landed in 2025: Best Buy on October 20, Costco on October 21, Sam's Club's preview on October 22. Walmart's announcement followed October 27.
The deals themselves start even before most ads exist. In 2025, Lowe's early sale opened October 30, and Costco and Best Buy both started October 31, with Best Buy running doorbusters every Friday after. Target's Sunday deal cycle began November 2. For what's actually live right now rather than what's projected, check today's deals.
When does the Walmart Black Friday ad come out?
Walmart doesn't publish a scan, so the question is really about three documents. In 2025, the schedule press release came Monday, October 27, laying out two events: November 14-16 and November 25-30 (online only November 25-27, in stores November 28-30, with Walmart+ early access the evening before each). The main-event details followed Monday, November 17: online from Tuesday, November 25 at midnight ET, in stores Friday, November 28 at 6 a.m. local. The official main-event deal preview posted Monday, November 24.
2024 looked nearly identical: announcement October 28, 40-page first-wave ad November 7, 37-page main ad November 21. That's two years agreeing on the last Monday of October and Thanksgiving-week Monday, which is why our 2026 projection, roughly October 26, November 16 and November 23, carries High confidence. Check what Walmart has on sale right now while you wait.
One thing to get straight, because a lot of pages get it wrong: Walmart's Cyber Monday was a separate, online-only December 1 event in 2025, not part of the November 25-30 window. Amazon, not Walmart, is the retailer whose sale ran as one continuous stretch.
Is the Black Friday sale only one day?
No, and it hasn't been for years. Home Depot's 2025 run stretched from November 5 to December 3 (its full offer is at Home Depot's Black Friday deals). Costco ran October 31 to December 1 across its phases (Costco's warehouse deals track the current ones). Amazon's Black Friday Week ran November 20 through Cyber Monday December 1 as one continuous window, starting at 12:01 a.m. PST. Best Buy's official sale ran November 20 to 29. You can see the shape of Amazon's approach on Amazon's Black Friday page.
November 27 is the branded peak, not the whole event. But Cyber Monday is still often its own thing rather than a tail end: Walmart ran it as a separate online-only day on December 1, and Target ran it November 30 through December 1.
Where the ads actually come from now (and one place they don't)
Retailer newsrooms are the primary source, and almost nobody links to them. Walmart and Target post their schedules as press releases on their corporate sites. Best Buy, Amazon and Macy's do the same, which is why their "ads" are announcements and deal pages rather than scans. Deal sites pick the scans up after they surface.
One place that's gone: bfads.net, which was for years the standard destination for leaked ad scans. As of September 2, 2026 it redirects to Rakuten, parked, with a goodbye page on its www host. If you have it bookmarked, it's dead.
And once the ads end, a separate system takes over: post-holiday clearance, which we follow on our clearance coverage page.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Walmart Black Friday ad come out?+
Walmart published its 2025 schedule on Monday, October 27, its main-event details on Monday, November 17, and its deal preview on Monday, November 24. In 2024 the dates were October 28 and November 21 for the main ad. For 2026 we project roughly October 26, November 16 and November 23, based on the same-weekday pattern. None of Walmart's 2026 dates have been announced as of September 2, 2026.
Are there Black Friday ads anymore?+
Yes, but they've split into two kinds. Traditional scans still exist: Costco, Target, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's, GameStop and Sam's Club all published page-by-page ads in 2025. Best Buy, Amazon and Macy's publish press releases and on-site deals instead, and Walmart mostly uses press releases too. The releases now span mid-October through Thanksgiving week rather than landing on a single day.
When should I start looking for Black Friday deals?+
Start watching in the third week of October. In 2025, Best Buy announced its schedule October 20 and Costco's scan surfaced October 21, and announcements have been creeping earlier year over year. The first actual deals opened October 30 and 31 (Lowe's, Costco and Best Buy's first doorbusters), and Target's weekly Sunday deals began November 2. By Halloween, six major retailers had already published something.
Is the Black Friday sale only one day?+
No. In 2025, Home Depot's sale ran November 5 through December 3, Costco's ran October 31 through December 1, and Amazon's Black Friday Week ran November 20 through Cyber Monday as one continuous window. November 27 is the branded peak, not the whole event. Cyber Monday is often a separate event: Walmart's was an online-only December 1 sale, and Target's ran November 30 through December 1.
What day is cheaper, Black Friday or Cyber Monday?+
We don't have price data that settles it, and neither does anyone we'd trust. What the calendar shows is that the two days work differently depending on the retailer. Amazon ran one continuous sale from November 20 through December 1 in 2025, so the day mattered less than the item. Walmart and Target ran Cyber Monday as a separate event with its own deals. Compare the specific item across both days rather than betting on the day itself.
How many Black Fridays are there in 2026?+
One. Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, which federal law fixes as the fourth Thursday in November. In 2026 those Thursdays fall on November 5, 12, 19 and 26. Looking ahead, Black Friday 2027 is November 26 and Black Friday 2028 is November 24.
Is bfads.net still a good place for leaked ads?+
No. As of September 2, 2026, bfads.net redirects to Rakuten with a parked flag, and its www host serves a goodbye page first. The long-running ad-scan aggregator is effectively dead. Retailer newsrooms and the retailers' own Black Friday pages are now the most reliable places to watch, followed by the ad-scan writeups that deal trackers publish once scans surface.
About McKenna Harmony-Greer
Deals Editor
