Black Friday ad release dates: when each store dropped its ad
Published October 9, 2026
Black Friday ad release dates are spread over most of November, not bunched up the week of Thanksgiving. In 2025, Home Depot’s early Black Friday deals started on November 6, three weeks before Black Friday, while Menards stores didn’t open for Black Friday until 6 a.m. on November 28 (its sale was online on Thanksgiving). If you plan around one date, you miss half the deals.
Black Friday 2026 is Friday, November 27. No store has announced its 2026 dates yet, so below are the dates each store actually used in 2025, the pattern they follow, and how to catch each ad the day it comes out.
1. The 2025 Black Friday ad release dates
These are the dates the stores on our Black Friday ads page used last year. They’re the best guide to 2026, because most chains repeat their structure from year to year.
| Store | 2025 dates |
|---|---|
| Home Depot | Early doorbusters from Nov 6. Stores closed Thanksgiving, open Black Friday |
| Target | Plans announced Oct 30. Early sale Nov 6 to 8. Black Friday deals Nov 23 to 29 |
| Meijer | Black Friday ad posted mid November, main deals Nov 27 to 29 |
| Harbor Freight | Club early access around Nov 24. Online for all on Thanksgiving, in stores Black Friday |
| Dollar General | Deals announced Nov 24. Three-day sale Nov 27 to 29 |
| Menards | Online on Thanksgiving; stores from 6 a.m. Nov 28 |
From each retailer’s 2025 announcements and published ads, as collected on USA Weekly Ads. Dates are for 2025 and will change in 2026.
Walmart, which isn’t on our site, followed a similar shape. Its 2025 announcement came on Oct 27 and set two deal events: Nov 14 to 16, and Nov 25 to 30, with Walmart+ members getting early access before each one.
2. The pattern: four waves, not one day
Put those dates on one calendar and a pattern appears. Black Friday is now a month-long season with four waves.
| Wave | 2025 timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Announcement | Late October | Stores publish their schedule and tease a few deals |
| Early deals | First two weeks of November | Early doorbusters and short early sales |
| Main ad | Around the Sunday before Thanksgiving | The big Black Friday ad goes live, often for a full week |
| Day-of | Thanksgiving to the weekend | Online deals on Thanksgiving, in-store doors open Friday |
Based on the 2025 dates in the table above.
What it means for 2026 is a pattern, not a promise. If stores repeat the 2025 structure, announcements would come in late October, early deals in the first week of November, and the main ads around Sunday, November 22, 2026. Treat those as the days to start checking, not as confirmed dates.
3. Know which stores close on Thanksgiving
The in-store Black Friday sale starts when the doors open, and several big chains now stay closed on Thanksgiving Day. In 2025, Target, Home Depot, and Menards stores were closed on Thanksgiving. Harbor Freight put its deals online on Thanksgiving instead, and opened the in-store sale on Friday.
That changes your plan in two ways:
- Online first. If a store moves its sale online on Thanksgiving, the best online deals may sell out before the store opens on Friday.
- Store hours vary. Menards opened at 6 a.m. on Black Friday in 2025. Check your own store’s hours the week before, because they can differ by location.
4. Get in early with memberships and apps
Member early access is now a normal part of Black Friday. In 2025, Harbor Freight’s Inside Track Club members got access around Nov 24, and Walmart+ members got early access before both of Walmart’s deal events.
Before you pay for a membership just for Black Friday, do the math:
- List the specific items you want and their expected sale prices.
- Compare the membership cost with what you would save by buying early.
- Check whether the deal sells out. Early access is worth the most on limited-quantity doorbusters, and least on items that stay in stock all week.
Free loyalty accounts are different. If a store gives app-only or loyalty-only prices, set up the account before November, so you’re not doing it in a checkout line.
5. Catch each ad the day it comes out
Each store’s Black Friday ad shows up on its page on our site as soon as the store publishes it. We check for new flyers every Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday. A simple routine keeps you from missing a wave.
- Make a short list of what you actually want: three to ten items, with the store you’d buy each one from.
- Bookmark the Black Friday ads page and check it every Sunday from November 1.
- Read each new ad’s valid dates the day it appears. Early deals often last only a few days.
- Compare prices across stores before you buy. The same tool or appliance can be in more than one ad.
- Set an alarm for the day-of wave if your item is a limited doorbuster.
Bonus: Black Friday 2026 at a glance
| Date | Day | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 1 to 8 | First week of November | Early deals started this week in 2025 |
| Nov 22 | Sunday | Target started Black Friday deals on the matching Sunday in 2025 (Nov 23) |
| Nov 26 | Thursday | Thanksgiving. Many stores closed, many sales online |
| Nov 27 | Friday | Black Friday |
| Nov 30 | Monday | Cyber Monday |
2026 calendar dates. Store sale dates for 2026 are not announced yet.
Where to start
Write down the three to ten things you want to buy this Black Friday, and the store you expect to have each one. Then check our Black Friday page once a week from November 1.